kermes
.
Searchable Lemmata: kermes (MdE).
Alternate Forms:
Definitions and Defining Citations:
1(n.)
Raw Material;
prestigious, ancient, red dye, prepared from the bodies of the female insect, the kermes shield louse (Kermes vermilio), found in countries bordering the Mediterranean; its chief colourant is kermesic acid. Also refers to the insect itself. See grain. This form of the word is not attested in English until the early seventeenth century; for earlier forms see crimson.(circa 1610 still in current use)
Sex: N/A Use: n/a Status: n/a Rank: n/a Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
Etymological Evidence:
Definite, Appears in most modern Romance languages; derived from Arabic and Persian qirmiz, from which carmine, cramoisy, crimson ['kermes, n.', OED, 2nd. ed. (1989)].
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Etym Cog:
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