Shades of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

are

color Color ( American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are ass ...

s that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In

color theory In the visual arts, color theory is the body of practical guidance for color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. Color terminology based on the color wheel and its geometry separates colors into primary color, second ...

, a '' shade'' is a pure color mixed with black (or having a lower

lightness Lightness is a visual perception of the luminance (L) of an object. It is often judged relative to a similarly lit object. In colorimetry and color appearance models, lightness is a prediction of how an illuminated color will appear to a stan ...

). Strictly speaking, a "shade of white" would be a neutral

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed ...

. This article is also about off-white colors that vary from pure white in

hue In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli th ...

, and in chroma (also called saturation, or intensity). Colors often considered "shades of white" include

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

eggshell An eggshell is the outer covering of a hard-shelled egg and of some forms of eggs with soft outer coats. Diversity Worm eggs Nematode eggs present a two layered structure: an external vitellin layer made of chitin that confers mechanical r ...

, ivory, Navajo white, and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

. Even the lighting of a room, however, can cause a pure white to be perceived as off-white. Off-white colors were pervasively paired with

beige Beige is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither bleached no ...

s in the 1930s, and especially popular again from roughly 1955 to 1975. In terms of paint, off-white paints are now becoming more popular, with Benjamin Moore having 152 shades of off-whites, Behr having 167, and PPG has 315. Whiteness measures the degree to which a surface is white in

colorimetry Colorimetry is "the science and technology used to quantify and describe physically the human color perception". It is similar to spectrophotometry, but is distinguished by its interest in reducing spectra to the physical correlates of color ...

Web colors

Below is a chart showing the computer

web color Web colors are colors used in displaying web pages on the World Wide Web, and the methods for describing and specifying those colors. Colors may be specified as an RGB triplet or in hexadecimal format (a ''hex triplet'') or according to their c ...

shades of white. An ''achromatic white'' is a white color in which the red, green, and blue codes are exactly equal. The web colors ''white'' and ''white smoke'' are achromatic colors. A ''chromatic shade of white'' is a white color in which the red, green, and blue codes are not exactly equal, but are close to each other, which is what makes it a shade of white.

White

''White'' is a color, the

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

of which is evoked by

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

that stimulates all three types of color sensitive

cone cell Cone cells, or cones, are photoreceptor cells in the retinas of vertebrate eyes including the human eye. They respond differently to light of different wavelengths, and the combination of their responses is responsible for color vision. Cones ...

s in the human eye in equal amounts and with high

brightness Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to be radiating or reflecting light. In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target. The perception is not linear to luminance, ...

compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of

and grayness. White is the lightest possible color.

Ghost white

The

''ghost white'' is a tint of white associated with what the 'creator' of the color imagined the hue of a

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to r ...

could be. There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the

X11 The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems. X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wit ...

color names were formulated in 1987.

White smoke

The web color ''white smoke'' is displayed on the left. There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987. The color is also known as Cultured Pearl, one of

crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax a ...

colors issued by

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...

in its 16-pack of Pearl Brite Crayons.

White solid

The web color ''white solid'' is displayed on the left. There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987. Sometimes also known as Ghost White, the color has marked blue hues, although is otherwise very close to being completely white in the RGB color system.

Baby powder

The

crayon color ''baby powder'' was introduced in 1994 as part of its specialty Magic Scent crayon collection.

Snow

The web color ''snow'' is displayed at left. The first recorded use of ''snow'' as a color name in English was in 1000. Snow Scene at Shipka Pass 1

The color ''snow'' was included as one of the X11 colors when they were formulated in 1987.

Ivory

''Ivory'' is an off-white color that resembles ivory, the material out of which the

teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tea ...

and

tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share c ...

s of animals (such as the

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae a ...

and the

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fam ...

) are made. It has a very slight tint of

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

. The first recorded use of ''ivory'' as a color name in English was in 1385. Bimbisar welcoming Buddha Roundel 30 buddha ivory tusk

The color ''ivory'' was included as one of the X11 colors when they were formulated in 1987.

Floral white

The web color ''floral white'' is displayed at left. There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987.

Seashell

''Seashell'' is an off-white color that resembles some of the very pale pinkish tones that are common in many

seashell A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

s. The first recorded use of ''seashell'' as a color name in English was in 1926. Seashell unknown 2

In 1987, ''seashell'' was included as one of the X11 colors.

Bone white

''Bone white'' is a yellowish-gray shade of white which represents the color of natural, unbleached bones.

Cornsilk

''Cornsilk'' is a color that is a representation of the color of cornsilk. The first recorded use of ''cornsilk'' as a color name in English was in 1927. Cornsilk 7091

In 1987, ''cornsilk'' was included as one of the X11 colors.

Old lace

''Old lace'' is a web color that is a very pale yellowish

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

that resembles the color of an old

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted ...

tablecloth. It is one of the original X11 colors. Old lace is used as a color of a certain kind of Caucasian skin type in art.

Cream

''Cream'' is a color that is a representation of the color of the

produced from the milk of cattle. The first recorded use of ''cream'' as a color name in English was in 1590. Strawberry ice cream dessert

In 1987, ''cream'' was included as one of the X11 colors.

Beige

The color ''beige'' is displayed at left. The first recorded use of ''beige'' as a color name in English was in 1887. The term originates from ''beige cloth'', a cotton

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

left undyed in its natural color. Beige cat

Items that are of ''beige'' color in real world applications are typically closer to brown than they are to white.

Parchment

Displayed at left is the color parchment. Parchment from goatskin

In 2001, this was made into one of the colors on the Xona.com color list.

Antique white

''Antique white'' is a web color. The color name ''antique white'' began to be used in 1987 when the X11 colors were first formulated.

Champagne

The color ''champagne'' is displayed at left. The color's name is derived from the typical color of the beverage

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...

The first recorded use of ''champagne'' as a color name in English was in 1915.

Eggshell

The color ''eggshell'' is displayed at left. The color ''eggshell'' is a representation of the average color of

chicken egg Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

Dutch white

Displayed at left is the color ''Dutch white''. ''Dutch white'' is one of the colors on the Resene Color List, a color list popular in Australia and New Zealand. The color ''Dutch white'' was formulated in 2000.

Bone

The color ''bone'' is displayed at left. This color is a representation of the color of

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

s. The first recorded use of ''bone'' as a color name in English was in the first decade of the 19th century (exact year uncertain). Crocuta crocuta(Cranial bone) new

Vanilla

The color ''vanilla'' is a rich

tint In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. Both processes affect the resulting color mixture's relative saturation. A tone is produc ...

of off-white as well as a medium pale tint of yellow. Vanilla1web

The first recorded use of ''vanilla'' as a color name in English was in 1925.

Flax

The color ''flax'' is displayed at left. Flax (Linum usitassimum)

The first recorded use of ''flax'' as a color name in English was in 1915. Maerz and Paul ''A Dictionary of Color'' New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 195; Color Sample of Flax: Page 47 Plate 12 Color Sample B2

Navajo white

''Navajo white'' is a whitish orange color, and derives its name from its similarity to the background color of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...

ethnic flag. Navajo flag

In 1987, ''Navajo white'' was included as one of the X11 colors.

Alabaster

Displayed at right is the color alabaster. It represents the whitish color of the mineral

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

Alabaster has been used as a color in English since at least 1594 (in Shakespeare's ''

The Rape of Lucrece ''The Rape of Lucrece'' (1594) is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Roman noblewoman Lucretia. In his previous narrative poem, '' Venus and Adonis'' (1593), Shakespeare had included a dedicatory letter to his patro ...

''), but the origin of the RGB coordinates is not known.

References

{{Color shades