Lateritious

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of a dull reddish-brown color resembling that of brick or tile
2. Having a hue that mirrors the deep, earthy tones typically found in baked clay or brick materials
3. Having a color similar to the reddish shade of bricks or clay tiles

Etymology: "Lateritious" describes something the colour of brick, and its roots lie in the Latin word for the building material itself. Latin "later" meant brick, and "latericius" was an adjective built from it, meaning made of brick or resembling brick. English took the adjective over with the same sense, so a lateritious wall or soil is one with that particular brick-red tone. The word is a plain adjective formed on a Latin base, with no folk tale or famous coiner behind it. Its interest lies in the fact that it names a colour by pointing at a building material rather than a pigment or a flower, which is how many colour words in English work. The "-itious" ending, from Latin "-icius", marks the adjective as "of or relating to" the base noun, so "lateritious" literally means "of brick."

Synonyms: brick-like, reddish, clay-like, earthy, terracotta