crimson

What it means

1. countableuncountableA deep, slightly bluish red.

   To my horror I perceived that the yellow blossoms were all dabbled with crimson.

   1904 January 30, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Priory School”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC

In a sentence

To my horror I perceived that the yellow blossoms were all dabbled with crimson.

1904 January 30, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Priory School”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Indo-Iranian*kŕ̥miš
2. Classical Persianکرمست
3. Arabicقِرْمِز
4. Old Spanishcremesín
5. Frenchcramoisin
6. Middle Englishcremesyn
7. Englishcrimson

PIE word *kʷŕ̥mis Late Middle English cremesyn, from obsolete French cramoisin or Old Spanish cremesín, from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz), from Classical Persian کرمست (kirmist), from Middle Persian; see Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš. Cognate with Sanskrit कृमिज (kṛmija). Doublet of kermes; also see carmine.