primary color

American  

noun

primary colors plural

1. Art. a color, as red, yellow, or blue, that in mixture yields other colors.

2. Optics. any of a set of monochromatic colors, as red, green, and blue, that are added to match or specify the chromaticity of a stimulus or sample.

---

primary color Scientific  

1. Any of a group of colors from which all other colors can be made by mixing.

2. See more at additive subtractive See Note at color

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• primary colors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of primary color

First recorded in 1605–15