Meanings
comparative more ultramarine · superlative most ultramarine
- archaicBeyond the sea.
[I]n England we ſhall never be taught to look upon the annihilation of our trade, the ruin of our credit, the defeat of our armies, and the loſs of our ultramarine dominions (whatever the author may think of them), to be the high road to proſperity and greatneſs.
1769, [Edmund Burke], Observations on a Late State of the Nation, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 8Synonyms: overseas, transmarine · Antonyms: cismarine
plural ultramarines
- countableuncountableIn full ultramarine blue: a brilliant blue pigment traditionally made from ground-up lapis lazuli, and now usually either extracted from mineral deposits or made synthetically.
- countableuncountableA brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour like that of the pigment.
The atmosphere beneath is languorous, and is so tinged with azure that what artists call the middle distance partakes also of that hue, while the horizon beyond is of the deepest ultramarine.
1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter II, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), page 14
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveof a brilliant pure blue to purplish blue color
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinultrā“beyond”
- Medieval Latinultrāmarīnus
- Englishultramarine
Borrowed from Medieval Latin ultrāmarīnus, from Latin ultrā (“beyond”) + marīnus (“of or relating to the sea, marine”). By surface analysis, ultra + marine. Noun sense 1 (“pigment”) refers to the fact that lapis lazuli was obtained from foreign countries and hence “beyond the sea”.
More words from Medieval Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian задморски, ясносин
- задморски (zadmorski)beyond the sea
- ясносин (jasnosin)of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ултрамаринен (ultramarinen)of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Catalan ultramarí, blau d'ultramar
- ultramaríof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- blau d'ultramarbrilliant blue pigment
- blau d'ultramarbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Chinese Mandarin 羣青 /群青
- 羣青 /群青 (qúnqīng)brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Dutch ultramarijn, ultramarijn
- ultramarijnof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramarijnbrilliant blue pigment
- ultramarijnbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Estonian ultramariinsinine
- ultramariinsininebrilliant blue pigment
Finnish ultramariini, merensininen
- ultramariiniof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- merensininenof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramariininsininenof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramariinibrilliant blue pigment
- ultramariinibrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- merensininenbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
French ultramarin, ultramarin
- ultramarinbeyond the sea
- ultramarinof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- outremerof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- outremerbrilliant blue pigment
- outremerbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
German ultramarin, ultramarinblau
- ultramarinof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramarinblauof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- Ultramarinblaubrilliant blue pigment
- Königsblaubrilliant blue pigment
- Ultramarinblaubrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Hungarian ultramarin, ultramarinkék
- ultramarinof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramarinkékof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Indonesian ultramarin
- ultramarinof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Irish ultramairíneach, ultramairín
- ultramairíneachof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramairínbrilliant blue pigment
- ultramairínbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- gorm ultramhuiríneachbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramhuiríneachbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- úrghormbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Italian oltremare, trasmarino
- oltremarebeyond the sea
- trasmarinobeyond the sea
- oltremareof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- oltremarinoof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- trasmarinoof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramarinobrilliant blue pigment
- oltremarebrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- blu oltremarebrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Japanese 群青色の, ウルトラマリン
- 群青色の (gunjō-iro no)of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ウルトラマリン (urutoramarin)brilliant blue pigment
- 群青 (gunjō)brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- 群青色 (gunjōiro)brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Korean 군청(群靑)의, 군청색(群靑色)의
- 군청(群靑)의 (guncheong-ui)of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- 군청색(群靑色)의 (guncheongsaeg-ui)of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- 남청색(藍靑色)의 (namcheongsaeg-ui)of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- 울트라마린 (ulteuramarin)brilliant blue pigment
Malay ultramarin
- ultramarinof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Polish ultramaryna, farbka
- ultramarynabrilliant blue pigment
- farbkabrilliant blue pigment
- ultramarynabrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Portuguese ultramarino, transfretano
- ultramarinobeyond the sea
- transfretanobeyond the sea
Russian ультрамари́н, ультрамари́н
- ультрамари́н (ulʹtramarín)brilliant blue pigment
- ультрамари́н (ulʹtramarín)brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Spanish ultramarino, azul ultramarino
- ultramarinobeyond the sea
- azul ultramarinobrilliant blue pigment
- azul de ultramarbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- azul ultramarinobrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- azul ultramarobrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Swedish ultramarin, ultramarin
- ultramarinof a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
- ultramarinbrilliant blue pigment
- ultramarinbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Vietnamese lam sẫm
- lam sẫmbrilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ultramarine
Cite this entry
ultramarine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ultramarine
“ultramarine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ultramarine. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ultramarine,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ultramarine.
Source: ultramarine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.