Orangey

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a hue that is reminiscent of the color of oranges
2. Having a tint that closely mirrors the shade of orange fruit, commonly used in artistic descriptions
3. Displaying a shade that closely resembles the color found in ripe oranges

Etymology: "Orangey" is a plain formation: the noun "orange" with the suffix "-y", which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having the quality of, or somewhat like, the thing named." English adds this suffix to all sorts of nouns, so "orangey" simply means "somewhat orange" in the way "milky" means somewhat like milk. The suffix is the older and more interesting part of the story. It descends from an Old English ending, "-ig," which was attached to nouns to make adjectives, and it softened over the centuries into the Middle English "-y" that appears here. The base word, "orange," came into English from Middle English "orenge," borrowed through Old French "orenge" and "pomme d'orenge," meaning "orange apple," a name that drew on the fruit's Old Occitan and Italian forms. The fruit itself reached Europe under names that shifted as it travelled, so the colour word and the fruit word have always been tangled together.

Synonyms: orange, citrus

Antonyms: non-orange