Prussian blue

noun

1. a moderate to deep greenish blue.
2. one of the iron blues, a dark-blue, crystalline, water-insoluble pigment, Fe 4 [Fe(CN) 6 ] 3 , produced by reacting ferrocyanic acid or a ferrocyanide with a ferric compound: used in painting, fabric printing, and laundry bluing.

Prussian blue

noun

1. any of a number of blue pigments containing ferrocyanide or ferricyanide complexes
2. 1. the blue or deep greenish-blue colour of this pigment
   2. ( as adjective )

      a Prussian-blue carpet

Word History and Origins

Origin of Prussian blue¹

1715–25; translation of French bleu de Prusse, so called because it was discovered and first reported in Berlin, capital of Prussia

Example Sentences

You know the print: swoops of Prussian blue water topped with white foam curling like fingers above the abyss, Mount Fuji in the back.

From Seattle Times

"There were just four stamps printed, and then there was a mistake and they printed several sheets in the wrong colour - Prussian blue - and they are very rare and very expensive."

From BBC

Hokusai’s “The Great Wave,” and the rest of his “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” series, wouldn’t have been possible without the then-recent arrival of Prussian blue ink in Japan.

From Washington Post

Sturge said an early watercolour showed a blue colour scheme, which was confirmed by paint analysis that discovered the first coat was Prussian blue.

From Reuters

Sweden top to toe in their change strip of Prussian blue, Australia all in highlighter pen yellow.

From The Guardian