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Also spelled colour

US /ˈkʌlɚ/ UK /ˈkʌl.ə(ɹ)/
Freq #1497

Meanings

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the quality of an object,... colouring
2 verb · to add colour to something,... color in
3 noun · a material such as paint or... coloring material
4 noun · interest, variety, and... vividness
Opposites
decolor
Word family
Forms coloredcoloringcolors
Derived forms anticolorbicolorbodycolorcolor-blindcolor-codecolor-codedcolor-coordinatecolor-flavorcolor-guardcolor-octetcolor-proudcolor-screw
Related forms colorablycolorationtincture

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Colour came into Middle English from Old French colour, ultimately from Latin color. The spelling colour has predominated in British English since the medieval period, while color, also found from the 15th century, became standard in American English.

Etymology

From Middle English colour, color, borrowed from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color. Doublet of couleur. Displaced English blee, Middle English blee (“color”), from Old English blēo. Also partially replaced Old English hīew (“color”) and its descendants (English hue), which is less often used in this sense. The spelling color was popularized in modern American English by Noah Webster, to match the spelling of the word's Latin etymon, and make all American spellings of the derivatives consistent (colorimeter, coloration, colorize, colorless, etc).

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