This is the first post in a series on English Color Etymologies. Today we are looking at the colors that come from the names of animals, insects, and flowers, trees and plants.

English is a colorful language. Since its birth among the tribes of Europe, English has built its color vocabulary with the wealth of words it has inherited from Anglo-Saxon, Norman French, Latin, and Greek. Collected here are 172 colors that standard dictionaries (I used the American Heritage and the Random House) classify as specific color nouns (these do not, of course, include the standard ten – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, grey, white – or any Crayola inventions). This treasure of colors is broken down by etymological origin: is the color the name of a flower, an animal, or even a historical person? Some colors appear twice (when I felt two origins were sufficiently different). Others appear only once though they could certainly fit into several categories.

Ever wonder how a color got its name? Refer to the following and enjoy your new grasp on color!

ANIMALS

Photo by fortphoto

The plumage, pelts, tusks, shells, and scales of various animals have all lent their names to colors.

Elephant tusk (made of the same material as all mammalian teeth).	Covering of a bird’s or reptile’s egg, made of calcium.
Soft leather, particularly from buffalo, elk, or oxen.	A game fish.
A large wading bird.	Rocklike structure formed of the calcareous skeletons of various, small sea creatures.
A small finch native to the Canary Islands (“the island of dogs”).	A small freshwater duck.
A young deer.	A European goat antelope.
A French mole (word now obsolete for reference to the animal).	A small, forest-dwelling, carnivorous mammal, related to the martens.
Italian word for the cuttlefish (and the ink it secretes).

INSECTS

Photo by markop

Various insects have been used for dyeing fabric over time and have thus become their own color.

Color in photography has come a long way since the first permanent color photo was taking in 1861. Now nearly 150 years later we thought we would take a look and see where and how color developed in photography. Starting with the black and white beginnings.

Monochrome Photography

Monochrome photography implies the act of recording light in a single color or wavelength and includes such types of photographs as black and white, sepia, infrared photography, and X-ray photography.

Oldest surviving photo created in 1826 by inventor Nicéphore Niépce

Black and White
Black and white photography uses neutral tones of gray ranging from near white to near black, or using a grayscale.

Photo by whappen

Photography began with the discovery that silver is a light sensitive chemical. Silver halides, or silver salt compounds, break down when exposed to light and form black metallic silver2. The darker areas of a negative that received more light during exposure block the light that would reach photographic paper during printing, thus allowing the paper to remain whiter in relation to the local negative density. The lighter areas of the negative that received less light during exposure allow more light to pass during printing, darkening those areas of the print.
- wikipedia:Monochrome_Photography

Sorting through the incredible number of wood varieties is a task of enormous proportions, and one we didn't even think of taking on. Lucky for us there are people who are doing just that.

Exotic Wood Pictures: Exotic Wood Displayed, described, and Identified is "a non-commercial site focusing on color-correct pictures of exotic and domestic woods." The site, which I found while performing the always necessary first step in any research, a Google search, is wonderful for exploring the amazing colors of the different varieties of wood. The highlighted statistics for the site read:

# different types of wood represented: 685
# unique pictures of those woods: 17,722

For any hard core wood fan out there this a great site to sort through hundreds of options for any upcoming wood related projects you might have on the table, or in the COLOURlovers case, this site can offer inspiration from the unique colors that make up each type.

Below we have assembled a few inspirational palettes with their corresponding types from some of the 685 wood varieties represented on the site. Plus, a few images of the incredible colors of petrified wood.

Wood Color Inspiration

• Angico
• Guearu
• Bosse
• Cinnamon
• Caretto

• Oak, Bog
• Bishop Wood
• Briar
• Podo
• Zircote

• Cocuswood
• Blackbean
• Beech
• Makai
• Buckthorn

Pantone was founded in 1962 as a small business that manufactured color cards for cosmetics companies. Since their humble beginning, Pantone has become a mainstay for color in the design world. The Pantone Matching System allows colors to be "matched" when they reach the production stages. They also assert that their lists of color numbers and pigment values are the intellectual property of Pantone and free use of the list is not allowed, which is controversial and could be said to cause problems, especially for open source uses. Controversy aside, the world leader in color hasn't stopped with just their matching system and has started to move into taking over the 'universe' of color as well with the launch of Pantone Universe.

Pantone Universe, Pantone's consumer product extension, "comes in color to match your personal taste and express your inner emotions." And since here at COLOURlovers we like our things to be, well, colorful, and since the Pantone Universe site is not that user friendly, we have put together a guide to some of their products.

This guide was inspired by the guide posted over at the wonderful blog, 'If it's hip, It's Here.'

Pantone, and their off shoot of products has been a frequent subject here at COLOURlovers and we have previously covered some of the phones, bags, coffee mugs and art that make up the Pantone Universe, plus a fun post about Pantone Colors Found in Real Life.

Office

Stationary

Notebooks, file folders and business card holders available here.

USB Drives

"Express your personality and store your creations in style. These durable, aluminum design thumb drives allow you to store your digital photos, music files, business documents, and more on an ultra-small Hi-speed USB flash drive. Available in 14 PANTONE Colors." Shop USB Drives.

Coming Soon

Coming soon from Pantone will be a line of basic office supplies like twin markers, colored pencils, staplers, and scissors.

Even if you haven't yet been able to travel as your wildest dreams may desire, put these locations on your list of places to see in life. I hope you enjoy the pictures in our color-centric version of the series, and we regret it can't contain every one of the world's gorgeous locations. If you want even more, Read the book of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die or visit the Flickr 1,000 Places Group.

Here Are 19 of Those Places...

by Christopher Chan
The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

by Jeff Epp
Cherry Blossom Viewing, Japan

by Geff Rossi
Notre-Dame Basilica, Quebec, Canada

by Becky E
Ayers Rock and the Olgas, Australia

by il Presbite
Siena, Italy

by nadi0
The Great Ocean Road, Australia

by Barrosopal
Palacio de Cristal, Retiro Park, Madrid

by Christopher Chan
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Color has always been an important component of fashion whether it be a heather grey or crimson red. Each designer makes color choices that will be indicative of their aesthetic, season, and era. Lately, I've been seeing beautiful and rich color choices in the fashion and accessory world. It seems that everyone is becoming obsessed with Pantone gradations. Check out some of my favorite examples of some stunningly colorful products as well as Pantone's Spring color predictions.

Softbank Cell Phones

SoftBank Cell Phones in glossy bright colors via Geeksugar

Kate Spade

There is hardly a better way to symbolize a social or political movement than with color. Many historical movements can be easily identified with a single image or flag that, more often than not, strongly involves color. So it is appropriate that one of the brightest social movements is symbolized by the rainbow.

The LGBT movement was first symbolized by the pink triangle, which was originally used as a stigma by the Nazis to identify homosexuals in concentration camps, and it wasn't until 1978 that Gilbert Baker designed what is now known as the symbol for the LGBT movement, The Rainbow Flag.

The Rainbow Flag

fuschia - Sexuality
Red - Life
Orange - Healing
Yellow - Sunlight
Green - Nature
Turquoise - Magic
Blue - Serenity
Violet - Spirit

Ever find it challenging to put into words a wish, a desire or particularly a feeling? If so, perhaps color and flowers are the solution to help articulate the emotions we occasionally struggle to verbalize.

Color, of course, is not the only way to communicate with flowers. The “silent language” made popular and finessed by women during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) included color as well as quantity; the type of flower; placement and arrangement. This language was quite sophisticated and nuanced. So much so a slew of books were published to help guide and explain Floriography: the language of flowers.

While flowers have historically been used to express feelings of amore; the meaning of flowers – like any language – is living and ever-evolving. Flowers can communicate the wonderful kaleidoscope of emotions. If accuracy matters or rather, the fear of a blunder, remember: even experts disagree on the one true meaning of flowers.

Most important of all, loose interpretation is highly encouraged. Have fun, experiment and fear not the flower; the sentiment is what truly counts.

from top left to bottom right: Lida Rose, tanakawho, gailf548, Pétur Gauti.

Red

The traditional color of love, Red excites. Red flowers are classic and can be a potent stimulant for a romantic liaison.
Symbolism: Passion, deep love, desire, beauty, respect, confidence, longing, courage, aristocratic, constancy.
Romantic message: I love you; I desire you, always.
Flower options: Long-stem Roses for the classic message. Anemones, Orchids, Zinnia, Dahlias, Amaryllis.

from top left to bottom right: Tim Parkin, Essjay NZ, Muffet, Eric in SF.

Pink

Feeling frisky? Cotton candy or pale blush, pink is feminine fun, fun, fun. Pink flowers are a sweet reminder of childhood days.
Symbolism: Sweetness, playfulness, grace, admiration, gratitude.
Romantic message: Life with you is fun. I admire you and I’m thankful for you in my life.
Flower options: Peonies, hydrangeas, Stargazer lilies, Ranunculus, Roses, Tulips, Freesia, Zinnia, Camellias.

Of all the ways to talk about color, sign language must be the most expressive. If you don't already speak sign language, color words are a fun place to start. You'll learn that it doesn't take a palate to discuss a palette.

How To Sign Your Colors

Orange: This colour sign pantomimes squeezing an orange fruit. In front of your mouth, form the letter "c" with your right hand (make a "c" shape by curving your fingers toward your thumb, as if you're grasping a can). Then squeeze your hand into a tight fist. Repeat this squeezing and inflating motion several times.

Blue: Form the letter "b" (fingers extended and held tight, thumb tucked against the palm) with your right hand, to the right of your body. Slightly shake your hand to the right from the elbow, without bending the wrist.

Red: Touch your lips with the tip of your index finger. (All other fingers are gathered toward the palm.) With a downward motion, glance the top lip, then the bottom. This motion is performed once, though sometimes people double it.

Brown: Form the letter "b" with your right hand (fingers extended and held tight, thumb tucked against the palm). Move your hand down the side of your right cheek, from your nose to the bottom of your mouth.

Gold: Touch your right ear with your right index finger. As you move your hand away, form the letter "y" (thumb and pinkie outstretched, other fingers tucked into the palm). Then shake your hand slightly.

More than half a century ago, Aemelius Müller, professor at the academy of Winterthur, Switzerland, came up with a formula that could predict the appreciation of a color-combination. In other words: Müller was able to predict which combination of colors most people would probably like.
 

		Müller's formula predicts that these color combinations will be considered as ugly by most people.
		While these will be liked. How is this possible?

		First we need to consider the 'natural' brightness of the colors of the color circle, as discussed in this post about Brightness vs. Whiteness. You will notice that yellow, for instance, is a lot brighter than blue.
		On a scale from 1 to 100, bright yellow has a brightness value of 90, while bright blue has a value as low as 35. Likewise, every hue in the color circle has its own 'natural' brightness.