scarlet

[ skahr-lit ]

noun

1. a bright-red color inclining toward orange.
2. cloth or clothing of this color.

adjective

1. of the color scarlet.
2. flagrantly offensive:

   Their sins were scarlet.

scarlet

/ ˈskɑːlɪt /

noun

1. a vivid red colour, sometimes with an orange tinge
2. cloth or clothing of this colour

adjective

1. of the colour scarlet
2. sinful or immoral, esp unchaste

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarlet¹

1200–50; Middle English < Old French escarlate < Medieval Latin scarlata, scarletum, perhaps < Arabic saqirlāṭ, siqillāṭ < Medieval Greek sigillátos < Latin sigillātus decorated with patterns in relief; sigillate

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarlet¹

C13: from Old French escarlate fine cloth, of unknown origin

Example Sentences

The scarlet tanager is Mr Nash's 435th species spotted in Britain.

From BBC

"Never before seen in Yorkshire, the first-winter male scarlet tanager is just the eighth British record and the first since 2014," it said.

From BBC

The report of the scarlet tanager in Shelf, near Halifax, is believed to be the first time one of the birds has been sighted in Yorkshire.

From BBC

The scarlet tanager was Mr King's 478th species spotted in the UK, he added.

From BBC

According to the American Bird Conservancy, the scarlet tanager's song is often described as "like a robin with a cold".

From BBC