flesh color

noun

1. a color that falls within the spectrum of human skin colors.
2. (no longer in common use; now considered offensive) a yellowish pink or pinkish cream color (approximating the skin color of a white person).

Usage Alert

While flesh color originally meant the skin tone of white people, that meaning has been criticized as exclusionary and is now considered offensive. In fact, the term is no longer commonly used without qualifying it with a specific hue, such as peach flesh color or dark flesh color . The word nude in the past has been used to describe a similar hue approximating a white person's skin color and has been criticized for the same reason.

Other Words From

• flesh-colored adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of flesh color¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

Flesh: White on immediate section, generally changing to slight pinkish or flesh color in fracture.

From Project Gutenberg

Bill and eyes red; legs flesh color; under parts white, and a white wing bar.

From Project Gutenberg

The plasmodium as it emerges to form fruit is pale pink or flesh color, slowly deepening to brown as maturity advances.

From Project Gutenberg

When of middle size, mushrooms are distinguished by the fine pink or flesh color of their gills, and by their pleasant smell.

From Project Gutenberg

In only two details were they agreed: faces and hands were to have flesh-color, and lips were to be painted red.

From Project Gutenberg