Vermelioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic name for a brilliant red pigment, or for the vivid scarlet colour that such a pigment gives
2. Old term for a bright crimson dye or paint, the colour made by the mercury-based red substance known as vermilion
3. A vivid red hue, historically a colouring material prized in painting and manuscript illumination for its intensity

Etymology: The red that gave this word its name was once squeezed from insects. Its ancestor is Latin "vermiculus," meaning "little worm," a diminutive of "vermis." The name referred to kermes, a scale insect whose dried bodies yielded a deep crimson dye, and Old French turned the Latin into "vermeil," a word for that colour. Middle English borrowed the Old French "vermeillon," which in English became "vermelioun" and named a bright red dye or paint. The mercury-based pigment came later, and its name was carried over from the older red. Over time, "vermilion" shifted from the insect-based dye to the mercury sulphide pigment, while this older form dropped out of use.