Citrine is a
colour
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
, the most common reference for which is certain coloured varieties of
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
which are a medium deep shade of
golden yellow
Gold, also called golden, is a color tone resembling the gold chemical element.
The web color ''gold'' is sometimes referred to as ''golden'' to distinguish it from the color ''metallic gold''. The use of ''gold'' as a color term in tradi ...
. Citrine has been summarized at various times as
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
,
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
ish-yellow,
brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black.
In the ...
ish yellow or
orange.
The original reference point for the citrine colour was the
citron
The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...
fruit. The first recorded use of ''citrine'' as a colour in English was in 1386. It was borrowed from a medieval Latin and classical Latin word with the same meaning. In late medieval and early modern English the citrine colour-name was applied in a wider variety of contexts than it is today and could be "reddish or brownish yellow; or orange; or amber (distinguished from yellow)".
["Citrine" in th]
''Middle English Dictionary''
(late medieval English).
In today's English citrine as a colour is mostly confined to the contexts of (1) gemstones, including quartz, and (2) some animal and plant names. E.g., the
citrine wagtail (''Motacilla citreola''), an Asian bird species with golden-yellow plumage, or the
citrine warbler,
citrine canary-flycatcher,
citrine forktail, etc.
File:Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)- Breeding Male of calcarata race at Bharatpur I IMG 5752.jpg, Citrine wagtail
File:3 etrog.JPG, The citron fruit is historically the source-word for the citrine colour name, beginning in Latin
File:Basileuterus luteoviridis.jpg, Citrine warbler
File:Citrineforktail.JPG, Citrine forktail
See also
*
List of colours
These are the lists of colors;
* List of colors: A–F
* List of colors: G–M
* List of colors: N–Z
* List of colors (alphabetical)
* List of colors by shade
* List of color palettes
* List of Crayola crayon colors
* List of RAL colours
* Lis ...
References
External links
Jewelry and Gemstone Glossary of Terms: Citrine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citrine (Colour)
Shades of yellow
Shades of green
Bird colours