Vinaceous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a wine-red or grape-purple color, typically used to describe certain birds, flowers, or other natural objects
2. Of, relating to, or resembling wine or grapes in color, flavor, or composition
3. Characterized by a deep reddish-purple hue similar to that of wine or grape skins

Etymology: Wine has been the source of a surprising amount of English vocabulary, and "vinaceous" is one of the plainer examples of that inheritance. It is a learned adjective borrowed from Late Latin "vinaceus", a formation built on Classical Latin "vinum", meaning wine. The Latin root also gave English "vine", "vineyard" and "vintage", but those arrived by quite different routes, so the family resemblance here is an etymological cousinship rather than a single chain of descent. The Late Latin form "vinaceus" is a derivative of "vinum" with the adjectival ending "-aceus", which marks something as resembling or belonging to the thing named. Latin speakers used the same ending in words like "herbaceus", "herbs-like", and this is why "vinaceous" carries the sense of resemblance as well as relation: a shade that is not quite wine-coloured, but close to it, is vinaceous. English adopted the word for this purpose in learned, descriptive writing, where it has stayed a precise term for colours and flavours that suggest wine rather than a literal link to wine itself.

Synonyms: wine-colored, purple, burgundy, claret, red

Antonyms: colorless, pale, white, clear, light