Etymology

magenta

ma·gen·ta
M3A1G2E1N1T1A1

Today it means: A color which is close to the equal mixture of red and blue which is an additive secondary color but a subtractive primary color evoked by the combination of red and light blue. Full definition →

French magenta ← Italian Magenta ← Latin Castra Maxentia
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromCastra Maxentia“the camp named Maxentia”
  2. Italian · derived fromMagenta
  3. French · borrowed frommagenta
  4. English todaymagenta

Borrowed from French magenta, from Italian Magenta, in commemoration of the Franco-Italian victory at the Battle of Magenta in 1859. An aniline dye in this colour had been invented the same year by French chemist François-Emmanuel Verguin and was named in honour of the battle. The town's name derives from Latin Castra Maxentia (“the camp named Maxentia”), referring to the emperor Maxentius. Compare Castra Regina for a similar appositional use of a proper noun with castra.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.