Kinds of colour
Pigments, dyes, named shades, traditional colours, heraldic tinctures and more.
Basic coloursThe handful of colour words every speaker knows: red, blue, green and the rest.17Named shadesA particular tint or shade with a name of its own, from azure to zaffre.367PigmentsColoured powders ground into paint, ink, plaster and glaze.191DyesColour that dissolves and soaks into cloth, leather, hair and food.159Colours named from natureNamed after a stone, a flower, a fruit, an animal or the sky.244Traditional coloursColours with a long life in one culture: its dress, craft, court or faith.225National and team coloursColours that stand for a country, a movement, a regiment or a team.22Heraldic coloursThe tinctures of coats of arms and the flags that grew from them.13Standard and safety coloursColours fixed by a rule: safety signs, school buses, uniforms, paint charts.142Screen and web coloursColours defined for screens, browsers and software.69