Rust is a red color resembling
iron oxide red
Iron oxide red is a generic name of a ferric oxide pigment of reddish colors. Multiple shades based on both anhydrous and its hydrates were known to painters since prehistory. The pigments were originally obtained from natural sources, since ...
. It is a commonly used color on cars and appears roughly the same color as photographic
safelight
A safelight is a light source suitable for use in a photographic darkroom. It provides illumination only from parts of the visible spectrum to which the photographic material in use is nearly, or completely insensitive.
Design
A safelight usua ...
s when used over a standard
tungsten
Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...
light source.

The first recorded use of ''rust'' as a color name in English was in 1692.
[ Maerz and Paul ''A Dictionary of Color'' New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 203; Color Sample of Rust: Page 35 Plate 6 Color Sample A12]
Origin
Rust is named after the resulting phenomenon of the
oxidation
Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...
of
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
. The word 'rust' finds its etymological origins in the Proto-Germanic word ''rusta'', which translates to "redness." The word is closely related to the term "
ruddy
Ruddy is a reddish-rosy crimson colour, closer to red than to rose.
Ruddy may also refer to:
Surname
* Albert S. Ruddy (born 1930), Canadian-born American film producer
* Christopher Ruddy (born 1965), American journalist; CEO of NewsMax Media ...
," which also refers to a reddish coloring in an object.
References
See also
*
List of colors
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
* List o ...
Shades of brown
Shades of orange
Shades of red
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