viridian

Etymology

From Latin viridis, from the verb vireō (“be verdant, sprout”).

viridian means of a bluish green colour. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 96 out of 100.

Why this word is great

VIRIDIAN — [Adjective, Noun] A brilliant bluish-green pigment made from hydrated chromium oxide, or the color of that pigment. From Latin viridis ("green, verdant"), from the verb vireō ("be verdant, sprout"). Unlike "verdigris," which is the corrosive, accidental patina on aging copper, or "emerald," which glows with a jewel-toned fire, viridian is a manufactured coolness, a hue of precise chemical intention. It is the opaque depth of a shaded pond thick with duckweed; the mineral chill of a glazed ceramic tile; the precise, unsettling green of a laboratory flask held to light. It is the color of growth synthesized, a verdancy fossilized into stable, chemical peace.

adj

Of a bluish green colour.“spring sweeps the wood’s cathedral nave with the green fury of a wave, till oak and elm and beech and ash in one viridian comber crash, while at their feet red vetches shine, sharp, and cold, and coralline.”

noun

A bluish-green pigment made from chromium sesquioxide.“It would be difficult to exaggerate the value of this addition to the artist’s palette. The colour of viridian is a very deep bluish green of great purity and transparency. It furnishes, with aureolin on the one hand and with ultramarine on the other, an immense number of beautiful hues, adapted to represent the colours of vegetation and of water.”
A bluish-green color.