ultramarine

[uhl-truh-muh-reen]

adjective

1. of the color ultramarine.

2. beyond the sea.

noun

1. a blue pigment consisting of powdered lapis lazuli.

2. a similar artificial blue pigment.

3. any of various other pigments.

4. a deep-blue color.

ultramarine

/ ˌʌltrəməˈriːn /

noun

1. a blue pigment consisting of sodium and aluminium silicates and some sodium sulphide, obtained by powdering natural lapis lazuli or made synthetically: used in paints, printing ink, plastics, etc

2. a vivid blue colour

adjective

1. of the colour ultramarine

2. from across the seas

Word History and Origins

Origin of ultramarine¹

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin ultrāmarīnus, equivalent to Latin ultrā ultra- + marīnus marine

Word History and Origins

Origin of ultramarine¹

C17: from Medieval Latin ultramarinus, from ultrā beyond (see _ultra- ) + mare sea; so called because the lapis lazuli from which the pigment was made was imported from Asia

Example Sentences

The colors are a reddish black, a Renaissance ultramarine blue and a blackish burgundy that Zumthor hoped would conjure a cave-like dimness.

From Los Angeles Times

She dug a narrow, shallow, 41-foot-long trench in the ground, running perpendicular to the Pacific Ocean, and poured powdered ultramarine pigment into it.

From New York Times

International Klein Blue, or I.K.B. for short, is a combination of ultramarine pigment and a chemist’s polymer binder that keeps it from fading.

From New York Times

Whether ultramarine, cerulean, Egyptian or cobalt, blue pigments have colored artworks for centuries.

From Science Daily

With the alley closed to the public, he strode into the room like the boy-mayor of the place, resplendent in an ultramarine bowling shirt.

From New York Times

Related Words

• blue-green