Azure (color)

Etymology

The color azure ultimately takes its name from the intense blue mineral lapis lazuli. Lapis is the Latin word for "stone" and lazuli is the genitive form of the Medieval Latin lazulum, which is taken from the Arabic لازورد lāzaward, itself from the Persian لاژورد lāžaward, which is the name of the stone in Persian and also of a place where lapis lazuli was mined.

The name of the stone came to be associated with its color. The French azur, the Italian azzurro, the Polish lazur, Romanian azur and azuriu, and the Portuguese and Spanish azul, Hungarian azúr, the Catalan atzur, all come from the name and color of lapis lazuli.

The word was adopted into English from the French, and the first recorded use of it as a color name in English was in 1374 in Geoffrey Chaucer's work Troilus and Criseyde, where he refers to "a broche, gold and asure" (a brooch, gold and azure).

Azure also describes the color of the mineral azurite, both in its natural form and as a pigment in various paint formulations. In order to preserve its deep color, azurite was ground coarsely. Fine-ground azurite produces a lighter, washed-out color. Traditionally, the pigment was considered unstable in oil paints, and was sometimes isolated from other colors and not mixed. Modern investigation of old paintings, however, shows that the pigment is very stable unless exposed to sulfur fumes.

The use of the term spread through the practice of heraldry, where "azure" represents a blue color in the system of tinctures. In engravings, it is represented as a region of parallel horizontal lines, or by the abbreviation az. or b. In practice, azure has been represented by any number of shades of blue. In later heraldic practice a lighter blue, called bleu celeste ("sky blue"), is sometimes specified.

Distinction between indigo, azure and cyan

All of the colors shown below in the section variations of azure are referenced as having a hue code of between 195 and 225 (the hue code is the h code in the HSV color space), signifying that these colors are tones of azure. The only exception, as noted below, is the web color azure which, with a color code of 180, is actually a tone of cyan.

Strictly speaking, according to the mathematical logic of the RGB color wheel, indigo colors are those colors with hue codes of between 255 and 225, azure colors are those colors with hue codes of between 195 and 225, and cyan colors are those colors with hue codes of between 165 and 195.

Azure (web color)

Displayed at right is the web color called azure; in actuality it is a pale pastel tint of cyan, as can be ascertained by noting its hue angle of 180 degrees (cyan).

In an artistic context, this color would be called azure mist.

Alice blue

The web color Alice blue is a pale tint of azure.

Light sky blue

Displayed at right is the web color light sky blue.

Baby blue

Baby blue is known as one of the pastel colors.

This color is associated with baby boys in Western culture.

The first recorded use of baby blue as a color name in English was in 1892.

Sky blue

Displayed at right is the web color sky blue.

The first recorded use of sky blue as a color name in English was in 1728 in the Cyclopædia of Ephraim Chambers. Prior to the Chambers reference, the color had first been used in 1585 in a book by Nicolas de Nicolay where he stated "the tulbant of the merchant must be skie coloured".

Deep sky blue

Deep sky blue is an azure-cyan color associated with deep sky blue.

Deep sky blue is a web color.

This color is on the color wheel (RGB/HSV color wheel) halfway between azure and cyan.

The traditional name for this color is Capri.

The first use of Capri as a color name in English was in 1920.

The color Capri in general is named for the azure-cyan color of the Mediterranean sea around the island of Capri off Italy, the site of several villas belonging to the Roman Emperor Tiberius, including his imperial residence in his later years, the Villa Jovis. Specifically, the color Capri is named after the color of the Blue Grotto on the island of Capri as it appears on a bright sunny day. Today the island of Capri is a resort island popular with tourists.

The name deep sky blue for this color did not come into use until the promulgation of the X11 color list in 1987.

The name Capri is still used for this color as well as the name deep sky blue.

Maya blue

Maya blue was a pigment widely used by the Mayan civilization.

Jordy blue

At right is displayed the color jordy blue.

The color name jordy blue has been in use since 2001, when this color was promulgated as one of the colors on the Xona.com Color List.

Columbia blue

Columbia blue is a medium light tone of azure named after Columbia University. The typical Columbia blue is defined by Pantone Columbia Blue 3 (PANTONE 292).

Picton blue

At right is displayed the color picton blue.

The color name picton blue dates back to at least 2001, and came into wider use when the Resene Paints colors were used as one of the sources for the Xona Games Color List.

United Nations blue

Displayed at right is the color United Nations blue.

Cornflower blue

At right is displayed the web color cornflower blue.

Bleu de France

The color bleu de France is displayed at right.

Bleu de France is a color that has been associated in heraldry with the Kings of France since the 12th century.

Dodger blue

At right is displayed the color Dodger blue.

Brandeis blue

Brandeis blue is the tone of azure used in association with Brandeis University.

The university administration defines Brandeis blue as corresponding to the Pantone color of 293 or the process color of 100c 56m 0y 0k.

True blue

The color true blue is a deep tone of azure that is the color of the uniforms of the sports teams of UCLA.

Royal blue (web color)

The web color royal blue is a rich tone of azure.

Celestial blue

Displayed at right is the color celestial blue.

The first recorded use of celestial blue as a color name in English was in 1535.

The source of this color is the Plochere Color System, a color system formulated in 1948 that is widely used by interior designers.

Vista blue

Displayed at right is the color vista blue.

The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #15-3930 TPX—Vista Blue.

Silver Lake blue

Displayed at right is the color Silver Lake blue.

The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #17-4030 TPX—Silver Lake Blue.

Tufts blue

Tufts blue is the tone of azure used in association with Tufts University.

Honolulu blue

Honolulu blue is the tone of azure used in association with the Detroit Lions football team.

Cerulean

The first recorded use of cerulean as a color name in English was in 1590.

The word is probably derived from the Latin word caeruleus, "dark blue, blue, or blue-green", which in turn probably derives from caelulum, diminutive of caelum, "heaven, sky".

Air Force blue

Displayed at right is the color air force blue, also known as RAF blue. This is the tone of air force blue used by the Royal Air Force, the first air force to choose an "air force blue" color by which to identify itself, in 1920.

The color "air force blue" is a medium tone of azure since it has a hue code of 204 which is a hue code between 195 and 225, signifying a tone of azure.

Steel blue

Steel blue is a grayish tone of azure that resembles the color blue steel, i.e., steel which has been subjected to bluing in order to protect it from rust.

The first recorded use of steel blue as a color name in English was in 1817.

French blue

French blue is a deep azure color commonly used in quality men's dress shirts.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of French Blue in English was in The Times of 1802.

Lapis lazuli

The color lapis lazuli is displayed at left.

Lapis Lazuli is a color that is a representation of the most common color of lapis lazuli.

Royal blue (traditional)

The traditional color called royal blue is a dark shade of azure.

Azure in nature

Azure in human culture