Everyone knows the colors of the rainbow- red, green, indigo, blue, yellow, violet, and orange. You probably learned these colors in school, but would you be shocked if we told you that are loads of colors within this spectrum that you see every day but don’t know the names of?
Here are some colors that you’ve never heard of that have the most bizarre names:
Vantablack
Vantablack is a color that was made by Surrey Nanosystems to explore space. The pigment is known to be the darkest man-made color across the globe since it can almost fully absorb visible light.
Smaragdine
In recent times, smaragdine has become known as emerald green. This funny name is actually the name of a gemstone in Latin!
Sarcoline
Sarcoline is a beige-yellow color with peachy undertones. It reminds one of a pale skin tone and is a great color to brighten up the mood.
Gamboge
This color is usually used to dye the robes of Buddhist monks. It is a deep saffron or mustard color with a brown-orange tinge, reminding one of the colors of a beautiful sunset.
Feldgrau
Feldgrau is a German word that means “field gray.” In World War II, German soldiers wore uniforms of this color. This color has grey undertones with an army-green tinge.
Falu
Falu is a color that comes from Falun, a city in Swedish. It is made from copper-mining components and is a common color that is used to paint cottages and wooden barns in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia. Think of this pigment as a deep crimson color.
Coquelicot
Initially, this was a French word used to describe wild corn poppy because of its orange and red shades. Over the years, the color of poppy found its way into the English language. Today, coquelicot is a bright shade that is made using mostly red and a little bit of blue.
Eburnean
Are you a fan of ivory colors? Eburnean is an ivory-colored, subtle shade that originates from the Latin word eburneus. This color is primarily white with under shades of yellow, making it the perfect neutral shade to pair your outfits with.
Celadon
Celadon is the most beautiful shade of mint green- an ancient color that was used to paint Chinese glaze and porcelain. The prized pottery that was produced in this color used raw materials of, iron, which is how this unique color gets its shade.
Aureolin
Aureolin is a golden shade that the German chemist Nikolaus Wolfgang Fischer made when he synthesized potassium cobaltinitrite. In today’s day and age, this brilliant color has become known as cobalt yellow.
Vermilion
This is an orange-red shade that was first found in China in the 4th century B.C. and was commonly referred to as cinnabar. Over the years, it became common in Europe and was largely used by Renaissance painters. You can make this color by mixing a lot of red and a little bit of blue and green.
Conclusion
How many of these colors have you heard of? Add them to your vocabulary today and surprise your friends!
Daniela Corango loves to see the color in all things. She’s passionate about fashion, and interior design. She recently moved to New York and lives with her 2 dogs Peppy and Cinnamon.