English Reference
adjective · noun · verb

crimson

adj. · n. · v.
US /ˈkɹɪmzən/ UK /kɹˈɪmsən/ crim·son UK spelling crimsoned, crimsoning, crimsons

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate Literary

    adj.having a deep, rich red colour.

    adj.possessing a deep, vivid red hue, often associated with blood or high-quality dyes.

    Simple

    The autumn leaves turned a beautiful crimson before falling to the ground.

    In context

    The sunset painted the horizon in shades of crimson and gold, casting long shadows across the valley floor.

    rubydeep redcarmine
  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate Literary

    n.a deep red colour that looks a bit purple.

    n.a deep, slightly bluish red pigment or hue.

    Simple

    The queen was dressed in a robe of deep crimson.

    In context

    The artist used a touch of crimson to highlight the velvet texture of the subject's cloak.

    redcarmine
  3. 03 C2 Proficiency Literary

    v.to turn deep red, usually because you are embarrassed or angry.

    v.to become crimson in colour; to blush deeply. Intransitive in this sense.

    Simple

    His face crimsoned when the teacher called his name in front of the class.

    In context

    She felt her cheeks crimson as the audience erupted in laughter at her minor slip of the tongue.

    blushreddenflush

PIE word *kʷŕ̥mis Late Middle English cremesyn, from obsolete French cramoisin or Old Spanish cremesín, from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz), from Classical Persian کرمست (kirmist), from Middle Persian; see Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš. Cognate with Sanskrit कृमिज (kṛmija). Doublet of kermes; also see carmine.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin iir-pro *kŕ̥miš
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated