vermeil

[ vur-mil, -meyl or, especially for 2, ver-mey ]

noun

vermilion red.
metal, as silver or bronze, that has been gilded.

adjective

of the color vermilion.

Origin of vermeil

1350–1400; Middle English <Middle French <Late Latin vermiculus kermes (insect and dye), Latin: larva, grub; see vermicule

Words Nearby vermeil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vermeil in a sentence

In 1840, Mademoiselle Malvesin offered to conduct it; her letter to vermeil, and his to her, crossing each other.
The College, the Market, and the Court | Caroline H. Dall
Mrs. Phox ensorcelled George with her beautiful, silly phace, shadowed with vermeil tinct and trimly pencilled.
Punch, Or the London Charivari, Volume 107, October 27th, 1894 | Various
vermeil is a liquid which gives lustre and fire to the gold; and makes it resemble or moulu.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines | Andrew Ure
Where were the vermeil blooms, the liquid expressive eyes, the harmonious limbs of Animula?
Masterpieces of Mystery In Four Volumes | Various
The vermeil of her lip flushed and paled alternate, from the pink of the wild rose-leaf to the red of its autumnal berry.
The Black Douglas | S. R. Crockett

British Dictionary definitions for vermeil

vermeil

/ (ˈvɜːmeɪl) /

noun

gilded silver, bronze, or other metal, used esp in the 19th century
- vermilion
- (as adjective): vermeil shoes

Origin of vermeil

C15: from Old French, from Late Latin vermiculus insect (of the genus Kermes) or the red dye prepared from it, from Latin: little worm

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

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