Colour Terms

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Miss Chicken, Apr 14, 2012.

  1. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    I had a look at this pic I found on the net

    [​IMG]

    which sort of sums up mine and sons' descriptions of colours and I was wondering what sort of colour terms people here use themselves

    Do you use such words at

    Burgundy
    Maroon
    Scarlet
    Teal
    Aqua
    Navy
    Mauve
    Violet etc

    or are you more likely to just describe things in more general terms such as red, blue, purple etc
     
  2. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2000
    Location:
    QC, IL, USA
    There are some colors on that list that I would never use, as I think their getting a little too specific. I've never even heard of the word "spindrift." For some of those, I'd probably just say something like "light purple" or "bright pink."
     
  3. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    I don't neccessary mean the exact terms in that pic, I certainly wouldn't use all that are listed but I would certainly make distinction using other terms. For example navy and aqua aren't on that least, nor are mauve, lilac and violet (which I would use along with plum, lavender and purple).

    I don't think I have ever said "light purple".
     
  4. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2000
    Location:
    QC, IL, USA
    For the most part I would probably just use primary color names unless I needed to make a distinction between "purples" or I was in a particularly accurate mood.
     
  5. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    If it's not necessary to be completely accurate, I'll use general base colors, but if it's a specific color that has to be detailed, then I'll use the appropriate and more exact term.

    For example, "red's a good color on you" is fine, but if someone says "what color is your jacket?", I might reply "maroon".
     
  6. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2009
    Location:
    City of the Fallen Angels
    I know the word, but this is the first time I’ve seen it used to describe a color. For science-fiction geeks, this is the Spindrift.

    [​IMG]

    And what the heck is “seam foam”? I assume that was meant to be “sea foam.”

    Because of my job, I normally use descriptive color names like burgundy, navy, rust, burnt orange, chocolate, royal blue, forest green — as well as some used mainly in the printing industry, like reflex blue and rubine red.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2018
  7. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2005
    Location:
    everywhere
    i stretch to light blue, dark blue, light green, dark green and that's about it. i might say 'beige' or 'tan' or 'cream', or 'navy blue' but generally, yeah, i'm on the man side.

    i say about this BS a lot when i'm using my PC for my mom (who's PC illiterate) to look at clothes online. "this T-shirt's available in Stone, Salmon, Apple and Orchid." it says, I say, "No, it's fucking grey, pink, green and purple."
     
  8. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    But salmon is an orangy-pink and is different from just pink. I could say the same sort of thing for the other colours you mentioned.
     
  9. Captain_Nick

    Captain_Nick Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2002
    Men clearly have the most efficient system going on there
     
  10. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Location:
    Terra Inlandia
    If I'm trying to describe a specific color and I know there's a consistent name for it such as maroon, lavender, magenta, teal or turquoise, then I'll use that name. I won't use paint-catalogue or design-magazine color names which may mean any of a number of different colors or shades, depending upon who you're asking; same for color-names which (like "spindrift") are meaningless. In those cases, I'd rather go the "same color as this here" or "like that, only a little more red" route.
     
  11. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    I think that the colour I would break down the least would be orange - I think the only orange terms that I use are orange, apricot and salmon.
     
  12. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2009
    Location:
    City of the Fallen Angels
    Or you could specify Pantone or Trumatch colors. They’re the same from New York to Nanking. ;)

    What’s really silly are some of the color names the automobile industry comes up with. In the mid-1960s, for example, Ford had a color called “honeygold.” Only it was neither honey nor gold; it was more of a pale metallic olive. And the Chevrolet Corvette was once available in Polo White. Otherwise known as . . . WHITE!
     
  13. DAYoung

    DAYoung Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2012
    Location:
    Melbourne, AUS
    I've used quite a few of those words. 'Spindrift' and 'seam foam' are absolutely alien to me. ('Seam foam' looks like light cyan to me.)

    Interesting how gendered this stuff is.
     
  14. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    Ther might be a reason for the difference in gender. From Wikipedia

    My sister seems to be able to recognise hues much better than most people so if tetrachromacy does exist I am sure it applies to her. Both her sons are colour-blind and it seems that if women are tetrachromats then some of their sons would suffer from colour-blindness to various degrees.
     
  15. DAYoung

    DAYoung Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2012
    Location:
    Melbourne, AUS
    Yes, I read about this before I posted - very interesting. I don't know enough (obviously), but it strikes me that some of this is cultural, i.e. about what men and women learn to notice and talk about.

    From memory, some of the studies on four-photopigment women were based on reported sensitivity to colours - so it's difficult to say whether the women saw more (physiologically), or had the vocabulary and interest to distinguish and discuss the colours.

    Like the difference between someone unfamiliar with X century art and an X century art historian looking at the same painting.

    But, as I said, I'm talking from ignorance here. They may be studies demonstrating that at least some women physiologically see a greater variety.
     
  16. Kestra

    Kestra Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2005
    It really depends on the subject and the person that I'm conversing with. I would describe something as pink or pale pink to my husband, and blush to my sister, for example. I also became a lot more descriptive after working at a dress shop. Show me a veil and I can tell you if it's white, diamond white, ivory, etc.
     
  17. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    my sister's first job was the wholesale ordering and selling of buttons. Today she cannot really say if she was good at that job because she was alway skilled at distinguishing colours or whether she became so skilled because of the job.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2012
  18. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    In general conversation I usually just use the main colors, but in writing when I want to be more precise, I'll use specific shades.
     
  19. DAYoung

    DAYoung Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2012
    Location:
    Melbourne, AUS
    Yes, exactly. In ordinary experience, it's difficult to point to the exact origins of our bent, e.g. physical makeup, disposition, training, etc. They've already made their marks, together.
     
  20. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2005
    Location:
    Confederation of Earth
    No, I don't use fancy words for colors. I break it down just like the scale does. No use getting too complicated.

    So where the Huskers' team colors might be described as "scarlet and cream," I just say, red and white. Close enough. :shrug: