haint blue

[heynt bloo]

noun

1. any of several light shades of blue, and traditionally a color of choice for porch ceilings in the southeastern United States.

   I’m looking for a haint blue with the slightest bit of lavender in it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of haint blue¹

First recorded in 2000–05; regional pronunciation of the noun haunt “ghost”; such a color supposedly prevents ghosts from entering the structure

Example Sentences

The plants had grown in the windows, and one of the black cats had had a litter, and the wallpaper had changed from slate gray to haint blue.

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Conchs called it haint blue, and it was supposed to keep haints away.

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“Do we have anything with a lot of haint blue on it?”

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“I didn’t say it was pulling me. I said it was holding me there. So I couldn’t get loose. Not until we shoved that stick covered in haint blue in the mud. And I heard a voice.”

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To keep them from coming inside, you painted the house haint blue, or you laid a broom across the entrance to the house.

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