azure

/ˈæʒə/

Etymology

From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, derived from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, “lapis lazuli”), dropping the l as if it were equivalent to the French article l'. The Arabic is from Classical Persian لاجورد (lājward, “lapis lazuli”), from the region of Lajward in Badakhshan. Compare with Italian azzurro and Spanish azul.

azure means sky blue; resembling the clear blue colour of the unclouded sky. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 73 out of 100.

azure is pronounced /ˈæʒə/.

Why “azure” is a great word

AZURE — [Adjective, Noun] A bright, clear blue color resembling a cloudless sky, or the pigment historically derived from lapis lazuli. From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, "lapis lazuli"), from Persian لاجورد (lājward, "lapis lazuli"), from the region of Lajward in Badakhshan. Unlike "cerulean," which specifies a precise, often green-tinted pigment, or "navy," which cloaks itself in maritime darkness, azure is the luminous principle of the sky itself—an expanse, not just a hue. It is the powdered brilliance of crushed lapis in a medieval manuscript, the flawless dome of a high-altitude noon, and the startling flash of a kingfisher’s wing—a color of boundlessness, paradoxically contained within a chip of earth.

adj

Sky blue; resembling the clear blue colour of the unclouded sky.“When Britain first, at Heaven's command / Arose from out the azure main.”
Cloudless.
In blazon, of the colour blue.“‘I forget your coat of arms.’ ‘A human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’”

name

A surname.

noun

The clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.“In robes of azure.”
A blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines.“Berington of Chester (on the authority of Harleian manuscript No. 1535) is said to bear a plain shield of azure. Personally I doubt this coat of arms […]”
The unclouded sky; the blue vault above.“Not like those steps / On heaven's azure.”
Any of various widely distributed lycaenid butterflies of the genus Celastrina.
Any of various Australasian lycaenid butterflies of the genus Ogyris.
Lapis lazuli.

verb

To colour blue.“Our readers are aware that much of the sugar sold in many countries goes through an azuring treatment; blue is added to granulated sugar with the view of making it appear whiter than it actually is.”