crimson means having a deep red colour. It carries an Arena rating of 1825, earned across 29 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, crimson ranks #755 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,606 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,707 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,762 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
crimson is pronounced /ˈkɹɪmzən/.
Why “crimson” is a great word
A deep, vivid red with a slight bluish tinge, and as a verb, to blush or become dyed with this color. From Late Middle English *cremesyn*, via obsolete French *cramoisin* or Old Spanish *cremesín*, from Arabic قِرْمِز (*qirmiz*), reaching back through Classical Persian کرمست (*kirmist*) and Middle Persian to the Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš* ("worm")—the kermes insect whose desiccated bodies produced the dye. Unlike "scarlet," which is a bright, often orange-leaning red, or "carmine," which names a specific cochineal-derived pigment, "crimson" denotes a specific depth and cool richness. It is the blood-dark heart of a rose, the heavy velvet of a cardinal's robe, and the slow, hot flush that blooms across the skin in a wave of shame or revelation—a color of life at its most intense and mortally aware, born from the crushed body of a tiny, forgotten worm.
Etymology
Late Middle English cremesyn, from obsolete French cramoisin or Old Spanish cremesín, from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz), from Classical Persian کرمست (kirmist), from Middle Persian; see Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš. Cognate with Sanskrit कृमिज (kṛmija). Doublet of kermes; also see carmine.
adj
- Having a deep red colour.
- Immodest.
noun
- A deep, slightly bluish red.e.g.“To my horror I perceived that the yellow blossoms were all dabbled with crimson.” — 1904 January 30, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Priory School”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:
verb
- To become crimson or deep red; to blush.e.g.“Eugenie's quick apprehensions seized the foul thought. Her eyes flashed—her cheek crimsoned.” — 1841, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XIII, in Night and Morning […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC:
- To dye with crimson or deep red; to redden.e.g.“Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand,
Sign’d in thy spoil, and crimson’d in thy lethe.” — 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] B
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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