Definition of color. Meaning of color. Synonyms of color

Accidental color
Color Col"or, n. [Written also colour.] [OF. color, colur, colour, F. couleur, L. color; prob. akin to celare to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See Helmet.] 1. A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc. Note: The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them. 2. Any hue distinguished from white or black. 3. The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion. Give color to my pale cheek. --Shak. 4. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. 5. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. --Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. --Shak. 6. Shade or variety of character; kind; species. Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color. --Shak. 7. A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey). In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental. --Farrow. 8. (Law) An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court. --Blackstone. Note: Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading. Body color. See under Body. Color blindness, total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See Daltonism. Complementary color, one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; -- so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption. Of color (as persons, races, etc.), not of the white race; -- commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. Primary colors, those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, -- red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called fundamental colors. Subjective or Accidental color, a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See Accidental colors, under Accidental.

Accidental colors
Accidental Ac`ci*den"tal, a. [Cf. F. accidentel, earlier accidental.] 1. Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous; as, an accidental visit. 2. Nonessential; not necessary belonging; incidental; as, are accidental to a play. Accidental chords (Mus.), those which contain one or more tones foreign to their proper harmony. Accidental colors (Opt.), colors depending on the hypersensibility of the retina of the eye for complementary colors. They are purely subjective sensations of color which often result from the contemplation of actually colored bodies. Accidental point (Persp.), the point in which a right line, drawn from the eye, parallel to a given right line, cuts the perspective plane; so called to distinguish it from the principal point, or point of view, where a line drawn from the eye perpendicular to the perspective plane meets this plane. Accidental lights (Paint.), secondary lights; effects of light other than ordinary daylight, such as the rays of the sun darting through a cloud, or between the leaves of trees; the effect of moonlight, candlelight, or burning bodies. --Fairholt. Syn: Casual; fortuitous; contingent; occasional; adventitious. Usage: Accidental, Incidental, Casual, Fortuitous, Contingent. We speak of a thing as accidental when it falls out as by chance, and not in the regular course of things; as, an accidental meeting, an accidental advantage, etc. We call a thing incidental when it falls, as it were, into some regular course of things, but is secondary, and forms no essential part thereof; as, an incremental remark, an incidental evil, an incidental benefit. We speak of a thing as casual, when it falls out or happens, as it were, by mere chance, without being prearranged or premeditated; as, a casual remark or encounter; a casual observer. An idea of the unimportant is attached to what is casual. Fortuitous is applied to what occurs without any known cause, and in opposition to what has been foreseen; as, a fortuitous concourse of atoms. We call a thing contingent when it is such that, considered in itself, it may or may not happen, but is dependent for its existence on something else; as, the time of my coming will be contingent on intelligence yet to be received.

Adjective color
Adjective Ad"jec*tive ([a^]d"j[e^]k*t[i^]v), a. [See Adjective, n.] 1. Added to a substantive as an attribute; of the nature of an adjunct; as, an adjective word or sentence. 2. Not standing by itself; dependent. Adjective color, a color which requires to be fixed by some mordant or base to give it permanency. 3. Relating to procedure. ``The whole English law, substantive and adjective.' --Macaulay.

Body color
Color Col"or, n. [Written also colour.] [OF. color, colur, colour, F. couleur, L. color; prob. akin to celare to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See Helmet.] 1. A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc. Note: The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them. 2. Any hue distinguished from white or black. 3. The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion. Give color to my pale cheek. --Shak. 4. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. 5. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. --Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. --Shak. 6. Shade or variety of character; kind; species. Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color. --Shak. 7. A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey). In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental. --Farrow. 8. (Law) An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court. --Blackstone. Note: Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading. Body color. See under Body. Color blindness, total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See Daltonism. Complementary color, one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; -- so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption. Of color (as persons, races, etc.), not of the white race; -- commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. Primary colors, those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, -- red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called fundamental colors. Subjective or Accidental color, a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See Accidental colors, under Accidental.

Complementary color
Color Col"or, n. [Written also colour.] [OF. color, colur, colour, F. couleur, L. color; prob. akin to celare to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See Helmet.] 1. A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc. Note: The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them. 2. Any hue distinguished from white or black. 3. The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion. Give color to my pale cheek. --Shak. 4. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. 5. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. --Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. --Shak. 6. Shade or variety of character; kind; species. Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color. --Shak. 7. A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey). In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental. --Farrow. 8. (Law) An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court. --Blackstone. Note: Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading. Body color. See under Body. Color blindness, total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See Daltonism. Complementary color, one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; -- so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption. Of color (as persons, races, etc.), not of the white race; -- commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. Primary colors, those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, -- red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called fundamental colors. Subjective or Accidental color, a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See Accidental colors, under Accidental.

Complementary colors
Complementary Com`ple*men"ta*ry, a. Serving to fill out or to complete; as, complementary numbers. Complementary colors. See under Color. Complementary angles (Math.), two angles whose sum is 90[deg].

Cyanic colors
Cyanic Cy*an"ic (s?-?n"?k), a. [Gr. ky`anos a dark blue substance: cf. F. cyanique. Cf. Kyanite.] 1. Pertaining to, or containing, cyanogen. 2. Of or pertaining to a blue color. Cyanic acid (Chem.), an acid, HOCN, derived from cyanogen, well known in its salts, but never isolated in the free state. Cyanic colors (Bot.), those colors (of flowers) having some tinge of blue; -- opposed to xanthic colors. A color of either series may pass into red or white, but not into the opposing color. Red and pure white are more common among flowers of cyanic tendency than in those of the other class.

Dead coloring
Coloring Col"or*ing, n. 1. The act of applying color to; also, that which produces color. 2. Change of appearance as by addition of color; appearance; show; disguise; misrepresentation. Tell the whole story without coloring or gloss. --Compton Reade. Dead coloring. See under Dead.

Express color
Express Ex*press" ([e^]ks*pr[e^]s"), a. [F. expr[`e]s, L. expressus, p. p. of exprimere to express; ex. out + premere To press. See Press.] 1. Exactly representing; exact. Their human countenance The express resemblance of the gods. --Milton. 2. Directly and distinctly stated; declared in terms; not implied or left to inference; made unambiguous by intention and care; clear; not dubious; as, express consent; an express statement. I have express commandment. --Shak. 3. Intended for a particular purpose; relating to an express; sent on a particular errand; dispatched with special speed; as, an express messenger or train. Also used adverbially. A messenger sent express from the other world. --Atterbury. Express color. (Law) See the Note under Color, n., 8. Syn: Explicit; clear; unambiguous. See Explicit.

Fundamental colors
Fundamental Fun`da*men"tal, a. [Cf. F. fondamental.] Pertaining to the foundation or basis; serving for the foundation. Hence: Essential, as an element, principle, or law; important; original; elementary; as, a fundamental truth; a fundamental axiom. The fundamental reasons of this war. --Shak. Some fundamental antithesis in nature. --Whewell. Fundamental bass (Mus.), the root note of a chord; a bass formed of the roots or fundamental tones of the chords. Fundamental chord (Mus.), a chord, the lowest tone of which is its root. Fundamental colors, red, green, and violet-blue. See Primary colors, under Color.

fundamental colors
Color Col"or, n. [Written also colour.] [OF. color, colur, colour, F. couleur, L. color; prob. akin to celare to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See Helmet.] 1. A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc. Note: The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them. 2. Any hue distinguished from white or black. 3. The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion. Give color to my pale cheek. --Shak. 4. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. 5. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. --Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. --Shak. 6. Shade or variety of character; kind; species. Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color. --Shak. 7. A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey). In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental. --Farrow. 8. (Law) An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court. --Blackstone. Note: Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading. Body color. See under Body. Color blindness, total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See Daltonism. Complementary color, one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; -- so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption. Of color (as persons, races, etc.), not of the white race; -- commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. Primary colors, those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, -- red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called fundamental colors. Subjective or Accidental color, a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See Accidental colors, under Accidental.

Isabel color
Isabel Is"a*bel, n., Isabel color Is"a*bel col"or [F. isabelle.] See Isabella.

Isabella color
Isabella Is`a*bel"la, n., Isabella color Is`a*bel"la col"or [Said to be named from the Spanish princess Isabella, daughter of king Philip II., in allusion to the color assumed by her shift, which she wore without change from 1601 to 1604, in consequence of a vow made by her.] A brownish yellow color.

Lenten color
Lenten Lent"en, a. [From OE. lenten lent. See Lent, n. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the fast called Lent; used in, or suitable to, Lent; as, the Lenten season. She quenched her fury at the flood, And with a Lenten salad cooled her blood. --Dryden. 2. Spare; meager; plain; somber; unostentatious; not abundant or showy. ``Lenten entertainment.' `` Lenten answer.' --Shak. `` Lenten suit.' --Beau. & Fl. Lenten color, black or violet. --F. G. Lee.

Liver color
Liver Liv"er, n. [AS. lifer; akin to D. liver, G. leber, OHG. lebara, Icel. lifr, Sw. lefver, and perh. to Gr. ? fat, E. live, v.] (Anat.) A very large glandular and vascular organ in the visceral cavity of all vertebrates. Note: Most of the venous blood from the alimentary canal passes through it on its way back to the heart; and it secretes the bile, produces glycogen, and in other ways changes the blood which passes through it. In man it is situated immediately beneath the diaphragm and mainly on the right side. See Bile, Digestive, and Glycogen. The liver of invertebrate animals is usually made up of c[ae]cal tubes, and differs materially, in form and function, from that of vertebrates. Floating liver. See Wandering liver, under Wandering. Liver of antimony, Liver of sulphur. (Old Chem.) See Hepar. Liver brown, Liver color, the color of liver, a dark, reddish brown. Liver shark (Zo["o]l.), a very large shark (Cetorhinus maximus), inhabiting the northern coasts both of Europe and North America. It sometimes becomes forty feet in length, being one of the largest sharks known; but it has small simple teeth, and is not dangerous. It is captured for the sake of its liver, which often yields several barrels of oil. It has gill rakers, resembling whalebone, by means of which it separates small animals from the sea water. Called also basking shark, bone shark, hoemother, homer, and sailfish

Local color
Local Lo"cal, a. [L. localis, fr. locus place: cf. F. local. See Lieu, Locus.] Of or pertaining to a particular place, or to a definite region or portion of space; restricted to one place or region; as, a local custom. Gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. --Shak. Local actions (Law), actions such as must be brought in a particular county, where the cause arises; -- distinguished from transitory actions. Local affection (Med.), a disease or ailment confined to a particular part or organ, and not directly affecting the system. Local attraction (Magnetism), an attraction near a compass, causing its needle to deviate from its proper direction, especially on shipboard. Local battery (Teleg.), the battery which actuates the recording instruments of a telegraphic station, as distinguished from the battery furnishing a current for the line. Local circuit (Teleg.), the circuit of the local battery. Local color. (a) (Paint.) The color which belongs to an object, and is not caused by accidental influences, as of reflection, shadow, etc. (b) (Literature) Peculiarities of the place and its inhabitants where the scene of an action or story is laid. Local option, the right or obligation of determining by popular vote within certain districts, as in each county, city, or town, whether the sale of alcoholic beverages within the district shall be allowed.

Of color
Color Col"or, n. [Written also colour.] [OF. color, colur, colour, F. couleur, L. color; prob. akin to celare to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See Helmet.] 1. A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc. Note: The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them. 2. Any hue distinguished from white or black. 3. The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion. Give color to my pale cheek. --Shak. 4. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. 5. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. --Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. --Shak. 6. Shade or variety of character; kind; species. Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color. --Shak. 7. A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey). In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental. --Farrow. 8. (Law) An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court. --Blackstone. Note: Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading. Body color. See under Body. Color blindness, total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See Daltonism. Complementary color, one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; -- so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption. Of color (as persons, races, etc.), not of the white race; -- commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. Primary colors, those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, -- red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called fundamental colors. Subjective or Accidental color, a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See Accidental colors, under Accidental.

Peach color
Peach Peach, n. [OE. peche, peshe, OF. pesche, F. p[^e]che, fr. LL. persia, L. Persicum (sc. malum) a Persian apple, a peach. Cf. Persian, and Parsee.] (Bot.) A well-known high-flavored juicy fruit, containing one or two seeds in a hard almond-like endocarp or stone; also, the tree which bears it (Prunus, or Amygdalus Persica). In the wild stock the fruit is hard and inedible. Guinea, or Sierra Leone, peach, the large edible berry of the Sarcocephalus esculentus, a rubiaceous climbing shrub of west tropical Africa. Palm peach, the fruit of a Venezuelan palm tree (Bactris speciosa). Peach color, the pale red color of the peach blossom. Peach-tree borer (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a clearwing moth ([AE]geria, or Sannina, exitiosa) of the family [AE]geriid[ae], which is very destructive to peach trees by boring in the wood, usually near the ground; also, the moth itself. See Illust. under Borer.

Play of colors
Play Play, n. 1. Amusement; sport; frolic; gambols. 2. Any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement or diversion; a game. John naturally loved rough play. --Arbuthnot. 3. The act or practice of contending for victory, amusement, or a prize, as at dice, cards, or billiards; gaming; as, to lose a fortune in play. 4. Action; use; employment; exercise; practice; as, fair play; sword play; a play of wit. ``The next who comes in play.' --Dryden. 5. A dramatic composition; a comedy or tragedy; a composition in which characters are represented by dialogue and action. A play ought to be a just image of human nature. --Dryden. 6. The representation or exhibition of a comedy or tragedy; as, he attends ever play. 7. Performance on an instrument of music. 8. Motion; movement, regular or irregular; as, the play of a wheel or piston; hence, also, room for motion; free and easy action. ``To give them play, front and rear.' --Milton. The joints are let exactly into one another, that they have no play between them. --Moxon. 9. Hence, liberty of acting; room for enlargement or display; scope; as, to give full play to mirth. Play actor, an actor of dramas. --Prynne. Play debt, a gambling debt. --Arbuthnot. Play pleasure, idle amusement. [Obs.] --Bacon. A play upon words, the use of a word in such a way as to be capable of double meaning; punning. Play of colors, prismatic variation of colors. To bring into play, To come into play, to bring or come into use or exercise. To hold in play, to keep occupied or employed.

Primary colors
Primary Pri"ma*ry, a. [L. primarius, fr. primus first: cf. F. primaire. See Prime, a., and cf. Premier, Primero.] 1. First in order of time or development or in intention; primitive; fundamental; original. The church of Christ, in its primary institution. --Bp. Pearson. These I call original, or primary, qualities of body. --Locke. 2. First in order, as being preparatory to something higher; as, primary assemblies; primary schools. 3. First in dignity or importance; chief; principal; as, primary planets; a matter of primary importance. 4. (Geol.) Earliest formed; fundamental. 5. (Chem.) Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement. Primary alcohol (Organic Chem.), any alcohol which possess the group CH2.OH, and can be oxidized so as to form a corresponding aldehyde and acid having the same number of carbon atoms; -- distinguished from secondary & tertiary alcohols. Primary amine (Chem.), an amine containing the amido group, or a derivative of ammonia in which only one atom of hydrogen has been replaced by a basic radical; -- distinguished from secondary & tertiary amines. Primary amputation (Surg.), an amputation for injury performed as soon as the shock due to the injury has passed away, and before symptoms of inflammation supervene. Primary axis (Bot.), the main stalk which bears a whole cluster of flowers. Primary colors. See under Color. Primary meeting, a meeting of citizens at which the first steps are taken towards the nomination of candidates, etc. See Caucus. Primary pinna (Bot.), one of those portions of a compound leaf or frond which branch off directly from the main rhachis or stem, whether simple or compounded. Primary planets. (Astron.) See the Note under Planet. Primary qualities of bodies, such are essential to and inseparable from them. Primary quills (Zo["o]l.), the largest feathers of the wing of a bird; primaries. Primary rocks (Geol.), a term early used for rocks supposed to have been first formed, being crystalline and containing no organic remains, as granite, gneiss, etc.; -- called also primitive rocks. The terms Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary rocks have also been used in like manner, but of these the last two only are now in use. Primary salt (Chem.), a salt derived from a polybasic acid in which only one acid hydrogen atom has been replaced by a base or basic radical. Primary syphilis (Med.), the initial stage of syphilis, including the period from the development of the original lesion or chancre to the first manifestation of symptoms indicative of general constitutional infection. Primary union (Surg.), union without suppuration; union by the first intention.

Primary colors
Color Col"or, n. [Written also colour.] [OF. color, colur, colour, F. couleur, L. color; prob. akin to celare to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See Helmet.] 1. A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc. Note: The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them. 2. Any hue distinguished from white or black. 3. The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion. Give color to my pale cheek. --Shak. 4. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. 5. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. --Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. --Shak. 6. Shade or variety of character; kind; species. Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color. --Shak. 7. A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey). In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental. --Farrow. 8. (Law) An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court. --Blackstone. Note: Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading. Body color. See under Body. Color blindness, total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See Daltonism. Complementary color, one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; -- so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption. Of color (as persons, races, etc.), not of the white race; -- commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. Primary colors, those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, -- red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called fundamental colors. Subjective or Accidental color, a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See Accidental colors, under Accidental.

Primitive colors
Primitive Prim"i*tive, a. [L. primitivus, fr. primus the first: cf. F. primitif. See Prime, a.] 1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church. ``Our primitive great sire.' --Milton. 2. Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress. 3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar. Primitive axes of co["o]rdinate (Geom.), that system of axes to which the points of a magnitude are first referred, with reference to a second set or system, to which they are afterward referred. Primitive chord (Mus.), that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental base of the harmony; -- opposed to derivative. --Moore (Encyc. of Music). Primitive circle (Spherical Projection), the circle cut from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane. Primitive colors (Paint.), primary colors. See under Color. Primitive Fathers (Eccl.), the acknowledged Christian writers who flourished before the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. --Shipley. Primitive groove (Anat.), a depression or groove in the epiblast of the primitive streak. It is not connected with the medullary groove, which appears later and in front of it. Primitive plane (Spherical Projection), the plane upon which the projections are made, generally coinciding with some principal circle of the sphere, as the equator or a meridian. Primitive rocks (Geol.), primary rocks. See under Primary. Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma. Primitive streak or trace (Anat.), an opaque and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in the vertebrate blastoderm. Syn: First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval; antiquated; old-fashioned.

Prismatic colors
Prismatic Pris*mat"ic, Prismatical Pris*mat"ic*al, a. [Cf. F. prismatique.] 1. Resembling, or pertaining to, a prism; as, a prismatic form or cleavage. 2. Separated or distributed by a prism; formed by a prism; as, prismatic colors. 3. (Crystallog.) Same as Orthorhombic. Prismatic borax (Chem.), borax crystallized in the form of oblique prisms, with ten molecules of water; -- distinguished from octahedral borax. Prismatic colors (Opt.), the seven colors into which light is resolved when passed through a prism; primary colors. See Primary colors, under Color. Prismatic compass (Surv.), a compass having a prism for viewing a distant object and the compass card at the same time. Prismatic spectrum (Opt.), the spectrum produced by the passage of light through a prism.

Protective coloring
Protective Pro*tect"ive, a. [Cf. F. protectif.] Affording protection; sheltering; defensive. `` The favor of a protective Providence.' --Feltham. Protective coloring (Zo["o]l.), coloring which serves for the concealment and preservation of a living organism. Cf. Mimicry. --Wallace. Protective tariff (Polit. Econ.), a tariff designed to secure protection (see Protection, 4.), as distinguished from a tariff designed to raise revenue. See Tariff, and Protection, 4.

Saturated color
Saturated Sat"u*ra`ted, a. 1. Filled to repletion; holding by absorption, or in solution, all that is possible; as, saturated garments; a saturated solution of salt. 2. (Chem.) Having its affinity satisfied; combined with all it can hold; -- said of certain atoms, radicals, or compounds; thus, methane is a saturated compound. Contrasted with unsaturated. Note: A saturated compound may exchange certain ingredients for others, but can not take on more without such exchange. Saturated color (Optics), a color not diluted with white; a pure unmixed color, like those of the spectrum.

Straw color
Straw bail, worthless bail, as being given by irresponsible persons. [Colloq. U.S.] Straw bid, a worthless bid; a bid for a contract which the bidder is unable or unwilling to fulfill. [Colloq. U.S.] Straw cat (Zo["o]l.), the pampas cat. Straw color, the color of dry straw, being a delicate yellow. Straw drain, a drain filled with straw. Straw plait, or Straw plat, a strip formed by plaiting straws, used for making hats, bonnets, etc. To be in the straw, to be brought to bed, as a pregnant woman. [Slang]

Substantive color
Substantive Sub"stan*tive, a. [L. substantivus: cf. F. substantif.] 1. Betokening or expressing existence; as, the substantive verb, that is, the verb to be. 2. Depending on itself; independent. He considered how sufficient and substantive this land was to maintain itself without any aid of the foreigner. --Bacon. 3. Enduring; solid; firm; substantial. Strength and magnitude are qualities which impress the imagination in a powerful and substantive manner. --Hazlitt. 4. Pertaining to, or constituting, the essential part or principles; as, the law substantive. Noun substantive (Gram.), a noun which designates an object, material or immaterial; a substantive. Substantive color, one which communicates its color without the aid of a mordant or base; -- opposed to adjective color.

Tempering color
Tempering Tem"per*ing, n. (Metal.) The process of giving the requisite degree of hardness or softness to a substance, as iron and steel; especially, the process of giving to steel the degree of hardness required for various purposes, consisting usually in first plunging the article, when heated to redness, in cold water or other liquid, to give an excess of hardness, and then reheating it gradually until the hardness is reduced or drawn down to the degree required, as indicated by the color produced on a polished portion, or by the burning of oil. Tempering color, the shade of color that indicates the degree of temper in tempering steel, as pale straw yellow for lancets, razors, and tools for metal; dark straw yellow for penknives, screw taps, etc.; brown yellow for axes, chisels, and plane irons; yellow tinged with purple for table knives and shears; purple for swords and watch springs; blue for springs and saws; and very pale blue tinged with green, too soft for steel instruments.

Water color
Water color Wa"ter col`or (Paint.) 1. A color ground with water and gum or other glutinous medium; a color the vehicle of which is water; -- so called in distinction from oil color. Note: It preserves its consistency when dried in a solid cake, which is used by rubbing off a portion on a moistened palette. Moist water colors are water colors kept in a semifluid or pasty state in little metal tubes or pans. 2. A picture painted with such colors.

Xanthic colors
Xanthic Xan"thic, a. [Gr. xanqo`s yellow: cf. F. xanthique.] 1. Tending toward a yellow color, or to one of those colors, green being excepted, in which yellow is a constituent, as scarlet, orange, etc. 2. (Chem.) (a) Possessing, imparting, or producing a yellow color; as, xanthic acid. (b) Of or pertaining to xanthic acid, or its compounds; xanthogenic. (c) Of or pertaining to xanthin. Xanthic acid (Chem.), a heavy, astringent, colorless oil, C2H5O.CS.SH, having a pungent odor. It is produced by leading carbon disulphide into a hot alcoholic solution of potassium hydroxide. So called from the yellow color of many of its salts. Called also xanthogenic acid. Xanthic colors (Bot.), those colors (of flowers) having some tinge of yellow; -- opposed to cyanic colors. See under Cyanic.

Definition of color. Meaning of color. Synonyms of color

Definition of color

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