Bices

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Pigments of a blue or green earthy color, traditionally made from ground minerals such as copper carbonate
2. Colored powders used by painters, especially blue or green mineral pigments prepared from copper ores
3. Naturally occurring earthy paints, typically blue or green, that artists ground from copper-bearing minerals

Etymology: "Bices" is the plural of "bice," a noun for a pigment, and the word traces back to a dull, muted colour rather than to any bright blue or green. It comes from French "bis," meaning greyish or dark-toned, which is related to Italian "bigio," a term for light grey or tawny brown. The colour sense came first, and the pigment was named for it. The surprising link is with "beige." The two words are doublets, meaning they descend from the same source but reached English by separate routes, so "bice" and "beige" are cousins that took different paths into the language. Where "beige" stayed close to the plain undyed wool colour, "bice" was applied to a particular pigment, a dull blue or green made from ground minerals or ash, which gave the word its specialized sense in painting.