crimson

English

Etymology

PIE word
*kʷŕ̥mis

Late Middle English cremesyn, from obsolete French cramoisin or Old Spanish cremesin, 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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪmzən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪmzən/, /ˈkɹɪmsən/
• Rhymes: -ɪmzən, -ɪmsən

Noun

crimson (countable and uncountable, plural crimsons)

1. A deep, slightly bluish red.

   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:

     To my horror I perceived that the yellow blossoms were all dabbled with crimson.

Translations

deep, slightly bluish red

• Afrikaans: karmosyn
• Albanian: granë f
• Arabic: قِرْمِز (ar) m (qirmiz)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܩܸܪܡܝܼܙܵܐ m (qirmīza)
• Azerbaijani: qönçə (az), al (az), al-qırmızı
• Bulgarian: пурпур m (purpur)
• Catalan: carmesí (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 艷紅色 / 艳红色 (zh) (yànhóngsè)

• Cornish: kogh
• Czech: karmín (cs) m
• Dutch: karmijnrood (nl) n, helrood (nl) n, dieprood (nl) n, karmozijn (nl) n
• Esperanto: karmezino
• Estonian: karmiinpunane
• Finnish: verenpunainen, karmiininpunainen
• French: cramoisi (fr) m, carmin (fr), pourpre (fr)
• Galician: carmesí (gl) m, carmín m
• Georgian: მეწამული (mec̣amuli), ალისფერი (ka) (alisperi), ჟოლოსფერი (žolosperi)
• German: Purpur (de) n, Purpurrot n, Karmesin n
• Greek: βυσσινί (el) n (vyssiní), βαθύ κόκκινο n (vathý kókkino)

  Ancient Greek: φοινός (phoinós)

• Hebrew: שָׁנִי (he) (shaní)
• Hindi: क़िरमिज़ी m (qirmizī)
• Hungarian: karmazsin (hu)
• Icelandic: fagurrauður, djúprauður
• Ido: karmezino (io)
• Ingrian: aaloi, veripunain
• Irish: corcairdhearg m
• Italian: cremisi (it), granata (it)
• Japanese: 深紅色 (ja) (しんくしょく, shinkushoku), クリムゾン (ja) (kurimuzon), 紅色 (ja) (べにいろ, beniiro)
• Malay: kirmizi, merah tua
• Maori: pākurakura
• Nepali: सिम्रिक (simrik)
• Occitan: carmin (oc), cremesin (oc), carmesin
• Pashto: ارغواني (ps) (ar-ghwani)
• Persian: زرشکی (fa) (zereški)
• Polish: karmazyn (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: carmim (pt), carmesim (pt) m
• Romanian: carmin (ro)
• Russian: мали́новый (ru) (malínovyj), а́лый (ru) (ályj), пунцо́вый (ru) (puncóvyj), багро́вый (ru) (bagróvyj), багря́ный (ru) (bagrjányj), пу́рпур (ru) m (púrpur)
• Serbo-Croatian: grimizno (sh) n
• Slovak: karmínový m
• Slovene: škrlatna
• Spanish: carmín (es) m, carmesí (es) m
• Swedish: karmosinröd (sv), karmosin (sv)
• Telugu: రక్తిమ (te) (raktima), ఎర్రని (te) (errani)
• Turkish: kırmızı (tr), al (tr)
• Ukrainian: багря́нець (uk) m (bahrjánecʹ)
• Welsh: rhudd (cy), rhuddgoch

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 심홍색 (simhongsaek)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} гримизна боја

Adjective

crimson (comparative more crimson, superlative most crimson)

1. Having a deep red colour.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:

     Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

   • 1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast:

     Her crimson dress inflames grey corridors, or flaring in a sunshaft through high branches makes of the deep green shadows a greenness darker yet, and a darkness greener.

2. Immodest. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Translations

having a deep red colour

• Afrikaans: karmosyn
• Arabic: قِرْمِزِيّ m (qirmiziyy)
• Bulgarian: пурпурен (bg) (purpuren)
• Catalan: carmesí (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 艷紅色 / 艳红色 (zh) (yànhóngsè), 赤紅色 / 赤红色 (chìhóngsè)

• Cornish: kogh
• Czech: karmínový (cs) m
• Dutch: karmijnrood (nl), helrood (nl), dieprood (nl)
• Esperanto: karmezina
• Finnish: verenpunainen, karmiininpunainen
• French: cramoisi (fr)
• Georgian: მეწამული (mec̣amuli), ალისფერი (ka) (alisperi), ჟოლოსფერი (žolosperi), სისხლისფერი (sisxlisperi)
• German: purpurn (de), purpurrot (de), blutrot (de) (Himmel), dunkelrot (de), karmesinrot
• Greek: βυσσινής (el) m (vyssinís), βαθυκόκκινος (el) m (vathykókkinos)

  Ancient Greek: βύσσινος (bússinos), κόκκινος (kókkinos), φοινός (phoinós)

• Hindi: क़िरमिज़ी (qirmizī)
• Hungarian: karmazsin (hu), karmazsinvörös (hu)
• Icelandic: fagurrauður, djúprauður
• Ido: karmezina (io)
• Ingrian: aaloi, veripunain
• Irish: craorag, corcairdhearg
• Italian: cremisi (it)
• Japanese: 深紅色の (ja) (しんくしょくの, shinkushoku no)
• Latin: coccineus (la)
• Nepali: सिम्रिक (simrik)
• Polish: karmazynowy (pl)
• Portuguese: carmim (pt), carmesim (pt)
• Romanian: carmin (ro)
• Russian: мали́новый (ru) (malínovyj), а́лый (ru) (ályj), пунцо́вый (ru) (puncóvyj), багро́вый (ru) (bagróvyj), багря́ный (ru) (bagrjányj)
• Serbo-Croatian: grimizan (sh) m, grimizan (sh) m
• Slovene: škrlaten (sl)
• Spanish: carmín (es), carmesí (es)
• Swedish: karmosinröd (sv)
• Telugu: ఎర్రని (te) (errani)
• Ukrainian: багря́ний (uk) (bahrjányj), багро́вий (uk) (bahróvyj)
• Vietnamese: đỏ thắm

having loose modesty

• Finnish: kevytkenkäinen (fi)
• German: lose Sitten f pl

Verb

crimson (third-person singular simple present crimsons, present participle crimsoning, simple past and past participle crimsoned)

1. (intransitive) To become crimson or deep red; to blush.
   • 1841, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XIII, in Night and Morning […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC:

     Eugenie's quick apprehensions seized the foul thought. Her eyes flashed—her cheek crimsoned.

   • 1885, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Ring” in The Poetical Works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, New York and Boston: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., Volume 2, p. 662,^[1]

     Father. Why do you look so gravely at the tower?

     Miram. I never saw it yet so all ablaze

     With creepers crimsoning to the pinnacles,

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[13]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     Gerty MacDowell bent down her head and crimsoned at the idea of Cissy saying an unladylike thing like that out loud she'd be ashamed of her life to say, flushing a deep rosy red, and Edy Boardman said she was sure the gentleman opposite heard what she said. But not a pin cared Ciss.

2. (transitive) To dye with crimson or deep red; to redden.
   • 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] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand,
     Sign’d in thy spoil, and crimson’d in thy lethe.

   • 1811, [Jane Austen], Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 153:

     Her face was crimsoned over, and she exclaimed, in a voice of the greatest emotion, “Good God! Willoughby, what is the meaning of this? […] ”

   • 1936, William Faulkner, chapter 5, in Absalom, Absalom!‎^[2], New York: Modern Library, published 1951, page 138:

     […] that sheetless bed (that nuptial couch of love and grief) with the pale and bloody corpse in its patched and weathered gray crimsoning the bare mattress […]

Translations

blush — see blush

Derived terms

• alizarin crimson
• Crimhead
• crimson clover
• crimson finch
• crimsonish
• crimson lake
• crimsonly
• crimsonness
• crimson rosella
• crimson tide
• crimson wave
• crimsonwing
• crimson-winged woodpecker
• crimsony
• dark crimson underwing
• encrimson
• masked crimson tanager

Related terms

• kermes
• carmine

See also

redsedit

• blood red
• brick red
• burgundy
• cardinal
• carmine
• carnation
• cerise
• cherry
• cherry red
• Chinese red
• cinnabar
• claret
• crimson
• damask
• fire brick
• fire engine red
• flame
• flamingo
• fuchsia
• garnet
• geranium
• gules
• hot pink
• incarnadine
• Indian red
• magenta
• maroon
• misty rose
• nacarat
• oxblood
• pillar-box red
• pink
• Pompeian red
• poppy
• raspberry
• red violet
• rose
• rouge
• ruby
• ruddy
• salmon
• sanguine
• scarlet
• shocking pink
• stammel
• strawberry
• Turkey red
• Venetian red
• vermilion
• vinaceous
• vinous
• violet red
• wine

Further reading

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Crimson”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• microns