hyacinthine
/ˌhaɪ.əˈsɪn.θɪn/
hyacinthine means of the colour of a hyacinth (either the gem or the flower); reddish-gold (chiefly with reference to hair). It carries an Arena rating of 1629, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, hyacinthine ranks #1,805 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,122 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,083 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,437 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
hyacinthine is pronounced /ˌhaɪ.əˈsɪn.θɪn/.
Why “hyacinthine” is a great word
Of a reddish-gold or purplish-blue colour, or having beautiful, curling hair, as associated with the hyacinth flower or the mythological youth Hyacinthus. From Latin *hyacinthinus*, from Ancient Greek ὑακίνθινος (huakínthinos, "of the hyacinth"), from ὑάκινθος (huákinthos, "hyacinth"), first attested in English in the mid-17th century. Unlike "auburn" (which specifies an earthbound reddish-brown) or "curly" (which describes a mere shape), hyacinthine fuses colour and form with antique lament. It is the metallic glint in a hero's bronze curls, the bruised violet of a twilight petal, and the impossible, luminous hue of a god's grief made botanical—a chromatic memory of beauty too perfect to keep.
Etymology
From Latin hyacinthinus, from Ancient Greek ὑακίνθινος (huakínthinos), from ὑάκινθος (huákinthos); corresponding to hyacinth + -ine.
adj
- Of the colour of a hyacinth (either the gem or the flower); reddish-gold (chiefly with reference to hair).e.g.“His fair large front and eye sublime declared / Absolute rule; and hyacinthine locks / Round from his parted forelock manly hung / Clustering, but not beneath his shoulders broad:” — 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost_(1674)/Book_IV), Book IV, lines 300-303:
- Curling like the petals of the hyacinth.
- Beautiful, like the mythological Hyacinthus.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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