LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

color

color m (genitive colōris)
Classical[ˈkɔ.ɫɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈkɔː.lor]
№ 725 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinecolor (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint
    tot fuerant illīc, quot habet nātūra, colōrēs, pictaque dissimilī flōre nitēbat humus. In that place there had been so many colors – as many as nature possesses –and the ground was radiant, having been decorated with every different flower. (Ovid describes the field where Persephone and her attendants picked flowers.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.429–430
  2. masculinepigment
  3. masculinecomplexion
  4. masculineoutward appearance

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod oculī in rēbus vident: ruber, viridis, caeruleus colōrēs sunt.
color -ōris m — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecolorcolōrēs
genitivecolōriscolōrum
dativecolōrīcolōribus
accusativecolōremcolōrēs
ablativecolōrecolōribus
vocativecolorcolōrēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

summo colore aliquid illustrare
to depict a thing in lively colours.

cŏlor (old form cŏlos, like arbos, clamos, honos, etc., Plaut. Mil. 4, 4, 43; Lucr. 6, 208; 6, 1073; Sall. C. 15, 5, acc. to Prob. II. pp. 1456 and 1467 P.; Plin. 13, 15, 30, § 98; 35, 11, 42, § 150), ōris, m. root cal-, to cover; cf.: caligo, occulere, calyx,
I. color, hue, tint.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: varii rerum, Lucr. 2, 786: nequeunt sine luce Esse, id. 2, 795: aureus ignis, id. 6, 205: albus, id. 2, 823; cf.: color albus praecipue decorus deo est, Cic. Leg. 2, 18, 45: purpureus conchyli, Lucr. 6, 1073: Tyrios mirare, Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 18; Ov. M. 4, 165; 10, 261; cf. id. ib. 6, 65; Verg. G. 1, 452: colorem accipere, Plin. 11, 38, 91, § 225: bibere, id. 8, 48, 73, § 193: inducere picturae, id. 35, 10, 36, § 102: color caerulo albidior, viridior et pressior, Plin. Ep. 8, 20, 4: amethystinus, Suet. Ner. 32: color in pomo est, ubi permaturuit, ater, Ov. M. 4, 165; Plin. 30, 2, 6, § 16: bonus, Varr. R. R. 3, 7, 10: melior, Plin. 7, 6, 5, § 41: colores, oculos qui pascere possunt, Lucr. 2, 419: rebus nox abstulit atra colorem, Verg. A. 6, 272: quam cito purpureos deperdit terra colores, Tib. 1, 4, 30: nec varios discet mentiri lana colores, Verg. E. 4, 42: Iris, Mille trahens varios adverso sole colores, id. A. 4, 701.—Poet.: ducere, of grapes, etc., to acquire color, become colored, Verg. E. 9, 49; Ov. M. 3, 485; cf. Sen. Ep. 71, 30.—
2. Meton.
a. Coloring stuff, dyestuff: regionis naturā minii et chrysocollae et aliorum colorum ferax, Flor. 4, 12, 60; Plin. 35, 6, 12, § 30 sq.—
b. Flowers of varied colors: aspice quo submittat humus formosa colores, Prop. 1, 2, 9; Val. Fl. 6, 492.—
B. Specif., the natural color of men, the complexion, tint, hue: qui color, nitor, vestitus, Ter. Eun. 2, 2, 11: formae autem dignitas coloris bonitate tuenda est, color exercitationibus corporis, Cic. Off. 1, 36, 130: venusti oculi, color suavis, id. Tusc. 5, 16, 46: verus (opp. to paint), Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 27 Don.; cf. Ov. A. A. 3, 164; and fucatus, Hor. Epod. 12, 10: senex colore mustellino, Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 22: niveus, Hor. C. 2, 4, 3: albus, fair, Ov. M. 2, 541: egregius, Cic. Fin. 2, 20, 64: verecundus, Hor. Epod. 17, 21; cf.: vide Num ejus color pudoris signum indicat, Ter. And. 5, 3, 7: colorem mutare, to change or lose color (on account of any excitement of the passions, from shame, fear, pain, etc.), to blush, etc., Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 38; cf. Cic. Clu. 19, 54: color excidit, Ov. M. 2, 602: perdere, id. ib. 3, 99: adeo perturbavit ea vox regem, ut non color, non voltus ei constaret, Liv. 39, 34, 7.—*
b. Prov.: homo nullius coloris, an unknown man, Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 99 (like the phrase: albus an ater sit; v. albus).—
2. Sometimes for beautiful complexion, fine tint, beauty: o formose puer, nimium ne crede colori, Verg. E. 2, 17: quo fugit Venus, heu, quove color? Hor. C. 4, 13, 17; Ov. H. 3, 141.—
II. Trop.
A. In gen., color, i.e. external form, state, condition, position, outward show, appearance (predominant in rhet.; v. 2.; elsewh. rare, and mostly poet.): amisimus omnem non modo sucum ac sanguinem, sed etiam colorem et speciem pristinam civitatis, Cic. Att. 4, 16, 10: vitae, Hor. S. 2, 1, 60; cf.: omnis Aristippum decuit color et status et res, every color became him, i. e. he accommodated himself to every condition, id. Ep. 1, 17, 23: novimus quosdam, qui multis apud philosophum annis persederint, et ne colorem quidem duxerint, have not acquired even the outward appearance, i.e. have imbibed or learned nothing, Sen. Ep. 108, 5; cf. Quint. 10, 1, 59: omnia eundem ducunt colorem; nec Persis Macedonum mores adumbrare nec Macedonibus Persas imitari indecorum, Curt. 10, 3, 14 Vogel ad loc. —
2. A class, fashion, kind.
a. In gen. (rare): hos maxime laudat.. egregium hoc quoque, sed secundae sortis ingenium ... hic tertius color est, Sen. Ep. 52, 4: tertium illud genus... sed ne hic quidem contemnendus est color tertius, id. ib. 75, 15; cf.: in omni vitae colore, Stat. S. 2 prooem. init.—
b. Esp., of diction, character, fashion, cast, coloring, style: ornatur igitur oratio genere primum et quasi colore quodam et suco suo, Cic. de Or 3, 25, 95; cf. id. ib. 3, 52, 199: non unus color prooemii, narrationis, argumentorum, etc., Quint. 12, 10, 71: qui est, inquit, iste tandem urbanitatis color? Cic. Brut. 46, 171: color dicendi maculis conspergitur, Quint. 8, 5, 28; cf.: color totus orationis, id. 6, 3, 110: simplicis atque inaffectati gratia, id. 9, 4, 17: tragicus, Hor. A. P. 236: operum colores, id. ib. 86.—
B. Pregn. (cf. supra, 1. B. 2.), a beautiful, brilliant quality or nature, splendor, lustre, brilliancy (freq. only in rhet. lang.): nullus argento color est avaris Abdito terris, Hor. C. 2, 2, 1.—
2. Of diction.
a. A high, lively coloring, embellishment: intelleges nihil illius (Catonis) lineamentis nisi eorum pigmentorum quae inventa nondum erant, florem et colorem defuisse, Cic. Brut. 87, 298; id. de Or. 3, 25, 100; id. Q. Fr. 2, 13 (15 a), 2.—
b. In a bad sense, t. t., an artful concealment of a fault, a pretext, palliation, excuse, Quint. 4, 2, 88 Spald.; 6, 5, 5; 10, 1, 116; 11, 1, 81; 12, 1, 33; cf. Sen. Contr. 3, 21; 3, 25: res illo colore defenditur apud judicem, ut videatur ille non sanae mentis fuisse, etc., Dig. 5, 2, 5: sub colore adipiscendae possessionis, Cod. Th. 3, 6, 3; Juv. 6, 280.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱélōs
  3. Proto-Italic*kelōs
  4. Old Latincolōs
  5. Latincolor

From earlier Old Latin colōs (genitive colōris), from Proto-Italic *kelōs, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to hide, conceal”). The nominative singular changed to color in Classical times by analogy with the oblique forms, where intervocalic /r/ had regularly developed from an original intervocalic /s/.

Descendants
  • Catalancolor
  • Italiancolore
  • Englishcolorfrom Old French color
  • Englishcolourfrom Old French color
  • Frenchcouleurfrom Old French color
  • Portuguesecorfrom Old Galician-Portuguese coor
  • Occitancolorfrom Old Occitan color
  • Spanishcolorfrom Old Spanish color
  • Romanianculoare
  • Sardiniancabori

Quick answers

What does color mean in Latin?
color, a noun, means “color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint; pigment”.
What is the genitive of color?
The genitive singular is colōris. color is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce color?
In classical Latin, [ˈkɔ.ɫɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkɔː.lor].
Where does color come from?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- → Proto-Indo-European *ḱélōs → Proto-Italic *kelōs → Old Latin colōs → Latin color.