crimson

[ krim-zuh n, -suh n ]

/ ˈkrɪm zən, -sən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crimson ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

deep purplish-red.

sanguinary.

noun

a crimson color, pigment, or dye.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become crimson.

Nearby words

Origin of crimson

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin cremesīnus ≪ Arabic qirmizī (qirmiz kermes + -ī suffix of appurtenance) + Latin -īnus -ine¹; see cramoisy

Related formscrim·son·ly, adverbcrim·son·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for crimson

Try Nebraska, South Dakota, Alaska, and Arkansas; what you might call a crimson tide.
One of the Midterms’ Little-Noticed Big Losers: The NRA|Cliff Schecter|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the next film I saw you in was the very first R-rated film I saw in theaters: Crimson Tide.
Viggo Mortensen Talks ‘The Two Faces of January,’ Blasts Fox News and Israel’s ‘State Terrorism’|Marlow Stern|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Crimson Room, players awoke in an unfamiliar room with no way of knowing how to escape.
Escape the Room—New York's Hottest Game|Justin Jones|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Forrest Gump was about as crimson as they come, and America loved the bejesus out of him.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Rednecks and Their Unjustly Unsung Kin|Allison Glock|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They have a deadline to meet with the project that completely intersects with my delivery of Crimson Peak.
Guillermo del Toro on Hardcore Gothic ‘Crimson Peak’ and ‘Pacific Rim 2’|Andrew Romano|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Percy, who played tackle on a winning Crimson eleven, and Sam Felton will be well remembered as the fastest punters of their day.
Football Days|William H. Edwards
At sunset the western sky will change to crimson and the eastern cliffs will change to gold.
A Trip to the Orient|Robert Urie Jacob
To the left stood a large arm-chair covered with crimson cloth.
In the Days of My Youth|Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards
The gold and crimson, splashed all about the sky, had overflowed around it, and rendered a clear view almost impossible.
For the Term of His Natural Life|Marcus Clarke
The gentle slope to the dark-green canada was a broad cataract of crimson poppies.
Susy, A Story of the Plains|Bret Harte

British Dictionary definitions for crimson

crimson

/ (ˈkrɪmzən) /

noun

a deep or vivid red colour
(as adjective)a crimson rose

verb

to make or become crimson

(intr) to blush

Derived Formscrimsonness, noun

Word Origin for crimson

C14: from Old Spanish cremesin, from Arabic qirmizi red of the kermes, from qirmiz kermes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for crimson

crimson

early 15c., "deep red color," from Old Spanish cremesin "of or belonging to the kermes" (the shield-louse insects from which a deep red dye was obtained), from Medieval Latin cremesinus (see kermes). For similar transfer of the dye word to generic use for "red," cf. Old Church Slavonic čruminu, Russian čermnyj "red," from the same source.

crimson

c.1600, from crimson (n.). Related: Crimsoned; crimsoning.

crimson

adjective

noun

verb (used with or without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of crimson

Examples from the Web for crimson

crimson

noun

verb

Word Origin for crimson

crimson

crimson