Shades of Green
Not just the color of envy
Saturdays are perfect days for chromatic surprises. Surprise–we're talking about the color green today!
Every March, St. Patrick’s Day heralds a widespread wearing of the green (though not THAT Wearing of the Green). Yet, the color of nature and money is with us always. Arguably the most popular of the secondary colors, green is used around the world to denote health, happiness, and hope along with unhealthy doses of greed, poison, and jealousy.
Many shades of green are named for plants (e.g. fern, grass, lime, mint, olive, pine, and sage), as green is the color of chlorophyll. This is also the color of chromium, which leads to the distinctive hues of minerals like emerald, jade, and peridot. Some shades of green have more interesting etymological associations:
aquamarine, which describes an oceanic blue, shades into the green spectrum. This color’s roots are AQUA- meaning water and MAR- meaning sea.Â
celadon, a luminous gray green associated with Chinese ceramics, is named for a fictional character fond of wearing green who was, in turn, named for a character in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
chartreuse, an electric apple-green, is named for the French herbal liqueur that is named for the Carthusian monks who have historically distilled this sweet and spicy elixir and are themselves named for their monastery in the Chartreuse Mountains.
eucalyptus, the Australian evergreen that has conquered the world, was named not for its manifold benefits but for the way its unopened flower is protected by a cap: EU- (good) + CAL- (cover, hide).
Kelly green is a pure hue honoring a common Irish family name. Green is widely associated with the country of Ireland: Irish or shamrock green features prominently on the Irish flag, as well as the uniforms of basketball’s Boston Celtics!
Lincoln green honors not the revered American president but the town of Lincoln, England once famous for its dyed woolen cloth. What made Lincoln green cloth so well-known? Robin Hood and his Merry Men were early influencers.
malachite is a bold green mineral named by the Greeks for having the color of mallows, plants for which our beloved marshmallows are named.
viridian comes from the root VERD- meaning green in words like verdigris, verdure, and salsa verde.
Did we miss any delightful derivations for shades of green? Please share in the comments.
(If you love learning about the etymology of colors, check out our exploration of blue and red.)