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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 on television and computer screens is created by a mixture of red, blue, and green light. The color white can be given with white pigments, especially titanium dioxide. In ancient Egypt and ancient Rome, priestesses wore white as a symbol of purity, and Romans wore white togas as symbols of citizenship. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance a white unicorn symbolized chastity, and a white lamb sacrifice and purity. It was the royal color of the kings of France, and of the monarchist movement that opposed the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War (1917–1922). Greek and Roman temples were faced with white marble, and beginning in the 18th century, with the advent of neoclassical architecture, white became the most common color of new churches, capitols and other government buildings, especially in the United States. It was also widely used in 20th century modern architecture as a symbol of modernity and simplicity. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, white is the color most often associated with perfection, the good, honesty, cleanliness, the beginning, the new, neutrality, and exactitude. White is an important color for almost all world religions. The pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has worn white since 1566, as a symbol of purity and sacrifice. In
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, and in the Shinto religion of Japan, it is worn by pilgrims. In Western cultures and in Japan, white is the most common color for wedding dresses, symbolizing purity and virginity. In many Asian cultures, white is also the color of mourning.


Etymology

The word '' white'' continues
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
', ultimately from a Common Germanic ' also reflected in OHG ', ON ', Goth. '. The root is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language ', surviving also in Sanskrit ' "to be white or bright" and Slavonic ' "light". The Icelandic word for white, ', is directly derived from the Old Norse form of the word '. Common Germanic also had the word *''blankaz'' ("white, bright, blinding"), borrowed into Late Latin as *''blancus'', which provided the source for Romance words for "white" (Catalan, Occitan and French ''blanc'', Spanish ''blanco'', Italian ''bianco'', Galician-Portuguese ''branco'', etc.). The antonym of white is black. Some non-European languages have a wide variety of terms for white. The Inuit language has seven different words for seven different nuances of white. Sanskrit has specific words for bright white, the white of teeth, the white of sandalwood, the white of the autumn moon, the white of silver, the white of cow's milk, the white of pearls, the white of a ray of sunlight, and the white of stars. Japanese has six different words, depending upon brilliance or dullness, or if the color is inert or dynamic.


History and art


Prehistoric and ancient history

White was one of the first colors used in art. The Lascaux Cave in France contains drawings of bulls and other animals drawn by
paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
artists between 18,000 and 17,000 years ago.
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
artists used
calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
or chalk, sometimes as a background, sometimes as a highlight, along with charcoal and red and yellow ochre in their vivid cave paintings. In ancient Egypt, white was connected with the goddess Isis. The priests and priestesses of Isis dressed only in white linen, and it was used to wrap mummies.Anne Varichon (2000), ''Couleurs – pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples'', p. 16 . In Greece and other ancient civilizations, white was often associated with mother's milk. In Greek mythology, the chief god Zeus was nourished at the breast of the nymph Amalthea. In the Talmud, milk was one of four sacred substances, along with wine, honey, and the rose. The ancient Greeks saw the world in terms of darkness and light, so white was a fundamental color. According to Pliny the Elder in his ''Natural History'',
Apelles Apelles of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἀπελλῆς; fl. 4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom much of modern scholars' knowledge of this artist is owed (''Naturalis Historia'' 35.36.79–97 and ''passim'' ...
(4th century BC) and the other famous painters of ancient Greece used only four colors in their paintings; white, red, yellow and black; For painting, the Greeks used the highly toxic pigment lead white, made by a long and laborious process. A plain white toga, known as a ''toga virilis'', was worn for ceremonial occasions by all Roman citizens over the age of 14–18. Magistrates and certain priests wore a ''toga praetexta'', with a broad purple stripe. In the time of the Emperor Augustus, no Roman man was allowed to appear in the Roman forum without a toga. The ancient Romans had two words for white; ''albus'', a plain white, (the source of the word ''albino''); and ''candidus,'' a brighter white. A man who wanted public office in Rome wore a white toga brightened with chalk, called a ''toga candida'', the origin of the word ''candidate''. The Latin word ''candere'' meant to shine, to be bright. It was the origin of the words ''candle'' and ''candid''. In ancient Rome, the priestesses of the goddess Vesta dressed in white linen robes, a white
palla Palla may refer to: * Palla (garment), a women's headcloth or shawl from ancient Rome * ''Palla'' (butterfly), a brush-footed butterfly genus described by Jacob Hübner in 1819 * Palla (troubadour), a twelfth-century minstrel from Galicia * Pal ...
or shawl, and a white veil. They protected the sacred fire and the penates of Rome. White symbolized their purity, loyalty, and chastity. File:Paintings from the Chauvet cave (museum replica).jpg, Prehistoric paintings in Chauvet Cave, France (30,000 to 32,000 BC) File:Ägyptischer Maler um 1360 v. Chr. 001.jpg, Painting of the goddess Isis (1380–1385 BC). The priests of her cult wore white linen. File:Maler der Grabkammer des Thot 001.jpg, Paintings of women in white from a tomb (1448–1422 BC). File:Chief Vestal.jpg, Statue of the chief Vestal Virgin, wearing a white
palla Palla may refer to: * Palla (garment), a women's headcloth or shawl from ancient Rome * ''Palla'' (butterfly), a brush-footed butterfly genus described by Jacob Hübner in 1819 * Palla (troubadour), a twelfth-century minstrel from Galicia * Pal ...
and a white veil.


Postclassical history

The early Christian church adopted the Roman symbolism of white as the color of purity, sacrifice and virtue. It became the color worn by priests during Mass, the color worn by monks of the Cistercian Order, and, under Pope Pius V, a former monk of the Dominican Order, it became the official color worn by the pope himself. Monks of the Order of Saint Benedict dressed in the white or gray of natural undyed wool, but later changed to black, the color of humility and penitence. Postclassical history art, the white lamb became the symbol of the sacrifice of Christ on behalf of mankind. John the Baptist described Christ as the
lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...
, who took the sins of the world upon himself. The white lamb was the center of one of the most famous paintings of the Medieval period, the '' Ghent Altarpiece'' by
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
. White was also the symbolic color of the transfiguration. The
Gospel of Saint Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...
describes Jesus' clothing in this event as "shining, exceeding white as snow." Artists such as Fra Angelico used their skill to capture the whiteness of his garments. In his painting of the transfiguration at the Convent of Saint Mark in Florence, Fra Angelico emphasized the white garment by using a light
gold background Gold ground (both a noun and adjective) or gold-ground (adjective) is a term in art history for a style of images with all or most of the background in a solid gold colour. Historically, real gold leaf has normally been used, giving a luxuriou ...
, placed in an almond-shaped halo. The white unicorn was a common subject of Postclassical history manuscripts, paintings and tapestries. It was a symbol of purity, chastity and grace, which could only be captured by a virgin. It was often portrayed in the lap of the Virgin Mary. During the Postclassical history, painters rarely ever mixed colors; but in the Renaissance, the influential humanist and scholar Leon Battista Alberti encouraged artists to add white to their colors to make them lighter, brighter, and to add ''hilaritas'', or gaiety. Many painters followed his advice, and the palette of the Renaissance was considerably brighter.


Modern history

Until the 16th century, white was commonly worn by widows as a color of mourning. The widows of the kings of France wore white until
Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...
in the 16th century. A white tunic was also worn by many knights, along with a red cloak, which showed the knights were willing to give their blood for the king or Church. File:Sodoma - Life of St Benedict, Scene 31 - Benedict Feeds the Monk - WGA21581.jpg, The monks of the order of Saint Benedict (circa 480–542) first dressed in undyed white or gray wool robes, here shown in painting by
Sodoma Il Sodoma (1477 – 14 February 1549) was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of ...
on the life of Saint Benedict (1504). They later changed to black robes, the color of humility and penitence. File:Bartolomeo Passarotti Pope Pius V.jpg, Under Pope Pius V (1504–1572), a former monk of the Dominican Order, white became the official color worn by the Pope. File:Ghent Altarpiece D - Adoration of the Lamb 2.jpg, The white lamb in the '' Ghent Altarpiece'' by
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
. (1432) File:Transfiguration by fra Angelico (San Marco Cell 6).jpg, The '' Transfiguration'' by Fra Angelico (1440–1442) File:Mary Queen of Scots in mourning.jpg,
Mary Stuart Mary Stuart or Mary Stewart may refer to: People *Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan (before 1428–1465), fifth daughter of James I of Scotland, 1st Countess of Buchan *Mary of Guelders (c. 1434–1463), queen to James II of Scotland * Mary Stewart, ...
wore white in mourning for her husband, King
Francis II of France Francis II (french: François II; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also King consort of Scotland as a result of his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in 1560. He ...
, who died in 1560.


18th and 19th centuries

White was the dominant color of architectural interiors in the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period and especially the Rococo style that followed it in the 18th century. Church interiors were designed to show the power, glory and wealth of the church. They seemed to be alive, filled with curves, asymmetry, mirrors, gilding, statuary and reliefs, unified by white. White was also a fashionable color for both men and women in the 18th century. Men in the aristocracy and upper classes wore powdered white wigs and white
stockings Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparen ...
, and women wore elaborate embroidered white and pastel gowns. After the French Revolution, a more austere white (''blanc cassé'') became the most fashionable color in women's costumes which were modeled after the outfits of Ancient Greece and Republican Rome. Because of the rather revealing design of these dresses, the ladies wearing them were called ''les merveilleuses'' (the marvellous) by French men of that era. The Empire style under Emperor Napoléon I was modeled after the more conservative outfits of Ancient Imperial Rome. The dresses were high in fashion but low in warmth considering the more severe weather conditions of northern France; in 1814 the former wife of Napoleon, Joséphine de Beauharnais, caught pneumonia and died after taking a walk in the cold night air with Tsar Alexander I of Russia. White was the universal color of both men and women's underwear and of sheets in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was unthinkable to have sheets or underwear of any other color. The reason was simple; the manner of washing linen in boiling water caused colors to fade. When linen was worn out, it was collected and turned into high-quality paper. The 19th-century American painter
James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
(1834–1903), working at the same time as the French impressionists, created a series of paintings with musical titles where he used color to create moods, the way composers used music. His painting ''Symphony in White No. 1 – The White Girl'', which used his mistress Joanna Hiffernan as a model, used delicate colors to portray innocence and fragility, and a moment of uncertainty. File:BasilikaOttobeurenHauptschiff02.JPG, A highly theatrical white Rococo interior from the 18th century, at the Basilica at Ottobeuren, in Bavaria. File:Marie-Antoinette par Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun - 1783.jpg, White gown of
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
, painted by
Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (s ...
in 1783. File:Gilbert Stuart - George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait) - Google Art Project.jpg, President
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
in a white powdered wig. The first five Presidents of the United States wore dark suits with powdered wigs for formal occasions. File:Emprjose.jpg, Portrait of Joséphine de Beauharnais in a classic Empire gown, modeled after the clothing of ancient Rome. (1801), by François Gérard. (The State ''Hermitage Museum''). File:Imperatriz D. Leopoldina por Luís Schlappriz (cropped).jpg, Empress Maria Leopoldina of Brazil wearing a white gown and a white pearls necklace, by Luís Schlappriz File:Whistler James Symphony in White no 1 (The White Girl) 1862.jpg, ''Symphony in White No. 1 – The White Girl'', by
James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
(1862). File:Queen Natalia Obrenovic of Serbia in Paris by Uros Predic.jpg, Queen Natalie of Serbia (1890)


20th and 21st centuries

The White movement was the opposition that formed against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War, which followed the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
in 1917. It was finally defeated by the Bolsheviks in 1921–22, and many of its members emigrated to Europe. At the end of the 19th century, lead white was still the most popular pigment; but between 1916 and 1918, chemical companies in Norway and the United States began to produce titanium white, made from titanium oxide. It had first been identified in the 18th century by the German chemist
Martin Klaproth Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1 December 1743 – 1 January 1817) was a German chemist. He trained and worked for much of his life as an apothecary, moving in later life to the university. His shop became the second-largest apothecary in Berlin, and ...
, who also discovered uranium. It had twice the covering power of lead white, and was the brightest white pigment known. By 1945, 80 percent of the white pigments sold were titanium white. The absoluteness of white appealed to modernist painters. It was used in its simplest form by the Russian suprematist painter
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich ; german: Kasimir Malewitsch; pl, Kazimierz Malewicz; russian: Казими́р Севери́нович Мале́вич ; uk, Казимир Северинович Малевич, translit=Kazymyr Severynovych ...
in his 1917 painting 'the white square,' the companion to his earlier 'black square.' It was also used by the Dutch modernist painter
Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...
. His most famous paintings consisted of a pure white canvas with grid of vertical and horizontal black lines and rectangles of primary colors. Black and white also appealed to modernist architects, such as
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
(1887–1965). He said a house was "a machine for living in" and called for a "calm and powerful architecture" built of reinforced concrete and steel, without any ornament or frills. Almost all the buildings of contemporary architect
Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...
, such as his museum in Rome to house the ancient Roman Ara Pacis, or Altar of Peace, are stark white, in the tradition of Le Corbusier. File:За единую Россію.jpg, Poster for the White Army during the Russian Civil War (1917–22). The poster says: "for a United Russia." File:VillaSavoye.jpg, The Villa Savoye (1928–31) by Le Corbusier; Le Corbusier called for a "calm and powerful" architecture built of steel and reinforced concrete, without color or ornament.


Scientific understanding (color science)

Light is perceived by the human visual system as white when the incoming light to the eye 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. Cone ...
s in the eye in roughly equal amounts. Materials that do not emit light themselves appear white if their surfaces reflect back most of the light that strikes them in a diffuse way.


White light

File:Synthese+.svg, In the
RGB color model The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...
, used to create colors on TV and computer screens, white is made by mixing red, blue and green light at full intensity. File:Dispersion prism.jpg,
White light 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 on ...
refracted in a prism revealing the color components.
In 1666, Isaac Newton demonstrated that
white light 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 on ...
was composed of multiple colors by passing it through a prism to break it up into components then using a second prism to reassemble them. Before Newton, most scientists believed that white was the fundamental color of light. White light can be generated by the sun, by stars, or by earthbound sources such as fluorescent lamps, white LEDs and
incandescent bulbs An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxida ...
. On the screen of a color television or computer, white is produced by mixing the primary colors of light: red, green and blue ( RGB) at full intensity, a process called
additive mixing Additive color or additive mixing is a property of a color model that predicts the appearance of colors made by coincident component lights, i.e. the perceived color can be predicted by summing the numeric representations of the component colo ...
(see image above). White light can be fabricated using light with only two wavelengths, for instance by mixing light from a red and cyan laser or yellow and blue lasers. This light will however have very few practical applications since color rendering of objects will be greatly distorted. The fact that light sources with vastly different
spectral power distribution In radiometry, photometry, and color science, a spectral power distribution (SPD) measurement describes the power per unit area per unit wavelength of an illumination (radiant exitance). More generally, the term ''spectral power distribution'' ...
s can result in a similar sensory experience is due to the way the light is processed by the visual system. One color that arises from two different spectral power distributions is called a metamerism. Many of the light sources that emit white light emit light at almost all visible wavelengths (sun light, incandescent lamps of various Color temperatures). This has led to the notion that white light can be defined as a mixture of "all colors" or "all visible wavelengths". This widespread idea is a misconception, and might originally stem from the fact that
Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...
discovered that ''sunlight'' is composed of light with wavelengths across the visible spectrum. Concluding that ''since "all colors" produce white light then white must be made up of "all colors"'' is a common logical error called affirming the consequent, which might be the cause of the misunderstanding. A range of spectral distributions of light sources can be perceived as white—there is no single, unique specification of "white light". For example, when buying a "white" light bulb, one might buy one labeled 2700K, 6000K, etc., which produce light having very different spectral distributions, and yet this will not prevent the user from identifying the color of objects that those light bulbs illuminate.


White objects

Color vision allows us to distinguish different ''objects'' by their color. In order to do so, color constancy can keep the perceived color of an object relatively unchanged when the illumination changes among various broad (whitish) spectral distributions of light.Convex and non-convex illuminant constraints for dichromatic colour constancy, G.D. Finlayson and G. Schaefer, in ''Proceedings of the 2001 ee.EE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. CVPR 2001'' "the perceived colour of an object is more or less independent of the illuminant; a white paper appears white both outdoors under bluish daylight and indoors under yellow tungsten light, though the responses of the eyes' colour receptors ... will be quite different for the two cases." The same principle is used in photography and cinematography where the choice of white point determines a transformation of all other color stimuli. Changes in or manipulation of the white point can be used to explain some optical illusions such as
The dress The dress was a viral phenomenon on the Internet in 2015. Viewers of the image disagreed on whether the dress depicted in a photograph was coloured black and blue, or white and gold. The phenomenon revealed differences in human colour percept ...
. While there is no single, unique specification of "white light", there is indeed a unique specification of "white object", or, more specifically, "white surface". A perfectly white surface diffusely reflects ( scatters) all visible light that strikes it, without absorbing any, irrespective of the light's wavelength or spectral distribution.Program of Color Science / Munsell Color Science Laboratory, Rochester Institute of Technology, ''Complete Color FAQ''. "A perfect mirror reflects all of the light that strikes it... A perfect white also reflects all the light incident on it, but reflects that light diffusely. In other words, the white scatters the incident light in all directions." Since it does not absorb any of the incident light, white is the lightest possible color. If the reflection is not diffuse but rather specular, this describes a mirror rather than a white surface. Reflection of 100% of incident light at all wavelengths is a form of uniform reflectance, so white is an achromatic color, meaning a color without hue. The color stimulus produced by the perfect diffuser is usually considered to be an achromatic stimulus for all illuminants, except for those whose light sources appear to be highly chromatic. Color constancy is achieved by chromatic adaptation. The International Commission on Illumination defines ''white (adapted)'' as "a color stimulus that an observer who is hromaticallyadapted to the viewing environment would judge to be perfectly achromatic and to have a luminance factor of unity. The color stimulus that is considered to be the adapted white may be different at different locations within a scene.


White features in nature

File:Snow-covered fir trees.jpg, Snow is composed of ice and air; it scatters or reflects sunlight without absorbing other colors of the spectrum. File:Cumulus clouds in fair weather.jpeg,
Cumulus cloud Cumulus clouds are clouds which have flat bases and are often described as "puffy", "cotton-like" or "fluffy" in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin ''cumulo-'', meaning ''heap'' or ''pile''. Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, gener ...
s look white because the water droplets reflect and scatter the sunlight without absorbing other colors. File:White Cliffs of Dover 02.JPG, The White Cliffs of Dover, made of limestone File:Hyams Beach 002.jpg, Hyams Beach, New South Wales appears white because the sunlight is reflected or scattered by the quartz or limestone sand
Beaches with sand containing high amounts of quartz or eroded limestone also appear white, since quartz and limestone reflect or scatter sunlight, rather than absorbing it. Tropical white sand beaches may also have a high quantity of white calcium carbonate from tiny bits of seashells ground to fine sand by the action of the waves."Science of summer – where does beach sand come from?"
''Livescience.com''
The White Cliffs of Dover take their white color from the large amount of chalk, made of limestone, which they contain, which reflects the sunlight. Snow is a mixture of air and tiny ice crystals. When white
sunlight Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...
enters snow, very little of the spectrum is absorbed; almost all of the light is reflected or scattered by the air and water molecules, so the snow appears to be the color of sunlight, white. Sometimes the light bounces around inside the ice crystals before being scattered, making the snow seem to sparkle. In the case of glaciers, the ice is more tightly pressed together and contains little air. As sunlight enters the ice, more light of the red spectrum is absorbed, so the light scattered will be bluish. Clouds are white for the same reason as ice. They are composed of water droplets or ice crystals mixed with air, very little light that strikes them is absorbed, and most of the light is scattered, appearing to the eye as white. Shadows of other clouds above can make clouds look gray, and some clouds have their own shadow on the bottom of the cloud. Many mountains with winter or year-round snow cover are named accordingly:
Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...
means ''white mountain'' in Hawaiian, Mont Blanc means ''white mountain'' in French. Changbai Mountains literally meaning ''perpetually white mountains'', marks the border between China and Korea.


White materials

File:Titanium(IV) oxide.jpg, Titanium white, made with titanium dioxide, is the brightest white paint available. It also colors most toothpaste and sunscreen. File:Zinc oxide.jpg, Zinc white is made from zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is used in paints, suntan lotion, and some foods. Chalk is a type of limestone, made of the mineral
calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
, or calcium carbonate. It was originally deposited under the sea as the scales or plates of tiny micro-organisms called Coccolithophore. It was the first white pigment used by prehistoric artists in cave paintings. The chalk used on blackboards today is usually made of gypsum or calcium sulphate, a powder pressed into sticks. ''Bianco di San Giovanni'' is a pigment used in the Renaissance, which was described by the painter Cennino Cennini in the 15th century. It is similar to chalk, made of calcium carbonate with calcium hydroxide. It was made of dried lime which was made into a powder, then soaked in water for eight days, with the water changed each day. It was then made into cakes and dried in the sun. Lead white was being produced during the 4th century BC; the process is described is Pliny the Elder, Vitruvius and the ancient Greek author Theophrastus. Pieces of lead were put into clay pots which had a separate compartment filled with vinegar. The pots in turn were piled on shelves close to cow dung. The combined fumes of the vinegar and the cow dung caused the lead to corrode into lead carbonate. It was a slow process which could take a month or more. It made an excellent white and was used by artists for centuries, but it was also toxic. It was replaced in the 19th century by zinc white and titanium white. Titanium white is the most popular white for artists today; it is the brightest available white pigment, and has twice the coverage of lead white. It first became commercially available in 1921. It is made out of titanium dioxide, from the minerals brookite, anatase, rutile, or ilmenite, currently the major source. Because of its brilliant whiteness, it is used as a colorant for most toothpaste and
sunscreen Sunscreen, also known as sunblock or sun cream, is a photoprotective topical product for the skin that mainly absorbs, or to a much lesser extent reflects, some of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation and thus helps protect against sunburn and ...
. Zinc white is made from zinc oxide. It is similar to but not as opaque as titanium white. It is added to some foods to
enrich ENRICH is a 125-item questionnaire for married couples that examines communication, conflict resolution, role relationship, financial management, expectations, sexual relationship, personality compatibility, marital satisfaction, and other persona ...
them with zinc, an important
nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
.
Chinese white Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, food supplements, rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, ceme ...
is a variety of zinc white made for artists. Some materials can be made to look "whiter than white", this is achieved using
optical brightener Optical brighteners, optical brightening agents (OBAs), fluorescent brightening agents (FBAs), or fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs), are chemical compounds that absorb light in the ultraviolet and violet region (usually 340-370 nm) of the ...
agents (OBA). These are chemical compounds that absorb light in the ultraviolet and violet region (usually 340–370 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum, and re-emit light in the blue region (typically 420–470 nm). OBAs are often used in paper and clothing to create an impression of very bright white. This is due to the fact that the materials actually send out more visible light than they receive.


Bleach and bleaching

Bleaching is a process for whitening fabrics which has been practiced for thousands of years. Sometimes it was simply a matter of leaving the fabric in the sun, to be faded by the bright light. In the 18th century several scientists developed varieties of
chlorine bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
, including sodium hypochlorite and
calcium hypochlorite Calcium hypochlorite is an inorganic compound with formula Ca(OCl)2. It is the main active ingredient of commercial products called bleaching powder, chlorine powder, or chlorinated lime, used for water treatment and as a bleaching agent. Thi ...
(bleaching powder). Bleaching agents that do not contain chlorine most often are based on peroxides, such as hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate. While most bleaches are oxidizing agents, a fewer number are reducing agents such as sodium dithionite. Bleaches attack the
chromophore A chromophore is the part of a molecule responsible for its color. The color that is seen by our eyes is the one not absorbed by the reflecting object within a certain wavelength spectrum of visible light. The chromophore is a region in the molec ...
s, the part of a molecule which absorbs light and causes fabrics to have different colors. An oxidizing bleach works by breaking the chemical bonds that make up the chromophore. This changes the molecule into a different substance that either does not contain a chromophore, or contains a chromophore that does not absorb visible light. A reducing bleach works by converting double bonds in the chromophore into
single bond In chemistry, a single bond is a chemical bond between two atoms involving two valence electrons. That is, the atoms share one pair of electrons where the bond forms. Therefore, a single bond is a type of covalent bond. When shared, each of th ...
s. This eliminates the ability of the chromophore to absorb visible light. Sunlight acts as a bleach through a similar process. High energy photons of light, often in the
violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...
or ultraviolet range, can disrupt the bonds in the chromophore, rendering the resulting substance colorless. Some detergents go one step further; they contain fluorescent chemicals which glow, making the fabric look literally whiter than white.


In the natural world


Astronomy

A white dwarf is a
stellar remnant In astronomy, the term compact star (or compact object) refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It would grow to include exotic stars if such hypothetical, dense bodies are confirmed to exist. All compact objects ha ...
composed mostly of
electron-degenerate matter Degenerate matter is a highly dense state of fermionic matter in which the Pauli exclusion principle exerts significant pressure in addition to, or in lieu of, thermal pressure. The description applies to matter composed of electrons, protons, neu ...
. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint
luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a st ...
comes from the
emission Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit radi ...
of stored thermal energy. A white dwarf is very hot when it is formed, but since it has no source of energy, it will gradually radiate away its energy and cool down. This means that its radiation, which initially has a high color temperature, will lessen and redden with time. Over a very long time, a white dwarf will cool to temperatures at which it will no longer emit significant heat or light, and it will become a cold black dwarf. However, since no white dwarf can be older than the Age of the universe (approximately 13.8 billion years), even the oldest white dwarfs still radiate at temperatures of a few thousand kelvins, and no black dwarfs are thought to exist yet. An
A-type main-sequence star An A-type main-sequence star (A V) or A dwarf star is a main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) star of spectral type A and luminosity class V (five). These stars have spectra defined by strong hydrogen Balmer absorption lines. They measure between 1 ...
(A V) or A dwarf star is a main-sequence ( hydrogen-burning)
star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
of spectral type A and luminosity class V. These stars have spectra which are defined by strong hydrogen Balmer absorption lines. They have masses from 1.4 to 2.1 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 7600 and 11 500   K.


Biology

White animals use their color as a form of camouflage in winter. Animals such as
penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
s are
countershaded Countershading, or Thayer's law, is a method of camouflage in which an animal's coloration is darker on the top or upper side and lighter on the underside of the body. This pattern is found in many species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, and ...
with white bellies, again as camouflage. File:Dove 001.JPG, The dove is an international symbol of peace. File:Mustela erminea winter cropped.jpg, The ermine, or stoat. Once considered the most noble of animals because it would rather die than dirty its fur. File:Delphinapterus leucas 2.jpg, The Beluga whale lives in Arctic and sub-arctic waters, where its color is an effective camouflage File:Polar Bear - Alaska (cropped).jpg, A
Polar Bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
in Alaska. Its color is a form of camouflage


Religion and culture

File:Astarte with horns.jpg, Statuette of the goddess Astarte. File:Al-Haram mosque - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg, Thousands of pilgrims in white gather in Mecca for the beginning of their pilgrimage, or
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
. File:Canonization 2014-The Canonization of Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II (14036966125).jpg, Pope Francis at the Vatican. Popes have traditionally worn white since 1566. File:Iwamotoji PilgrimGirl.JPG, A pilgrim in Japan. File:Bride at meiji shrine.jpg, In the Shinto religion of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
brides traditionally wear a white wedding kimono. File:Weisse tara mongolian art.jpg, The Buddhist deity Tara is often depicted with white skin.
White is an important symbolic color in most religions and cultures, usually because of its association with purity. In the Roman Catholic Church, white is associated with Jesus Christ, innocence and sacrifice. Since the Middle Ages, priests wear a white
cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denomi ...
in many of the most important ceremonies and religious services connected with events in the life of Christ. White is worn by priests at Christmas, during Easter, and during celebrations connected with the other events of the life of Christ, such as Corpus Christi Sunday, and Trinity Sunday. It is also worn at the services dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and to those Saints who were not martyred, as well as other special occasions, such as the ordination of priests and the installation of new bishops. Within the hierarchy of the church, the lighter the color, the higher the rank. Ordinary priests wear black; bishops wear violet, cardinals wear red, and outside a church, only the Pope will wear white. Popes occasionally wore white in the Middle Ages, but usually wore red. Popes have worn white regularly since 1566, when Pope Pius V, a member of the Dominican Order, began the practice. White is the color of the Dominican Order. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the color white is used as a symbol of purity, innocence, and cleanliness, particularly in religious ceremonies such as baptism and temple ceremonies. In temple ceremonies, white clothing is also worn by all participants, both men and women, to also symbolize unity and equality before God. In Islam, white clothing is worn during required pilgrimage to Mecca, or ''
Ihram ''Ihram'' ( ar, إِحْرَام, iḥrām, from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-R-M) is, in Islam, a sacred state which a Muslim must enter in order to perform the major pilgrimage ('' Ḥajj'') or the minor pilgrimage (''ʿUmrah''). A pilgrim mus ...
'' pilgrimage (''
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
'').
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
. Called Ihram clothing, men's garments often consist of two white un-hemmed sheets (usually towelling material). The top (the ''riḍā'') is draped over the torso and the bottom (the ''izār'') is secured by a belt; plus a pair of sandals. Women's clothing varies considerably and reflects regional as well as religious influences. Ihram is typically worn during
Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijja ( ar, ذُو ٱلْحِجَّة, translit=Ḏū al-Ḥijja, ), also spelled Zu al-Hijja, is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the ''Hajj, Ḥajj'' (P ...
, the last month in the Islamic calendar. White also has a long history of use as a religious and political symbol in Islam, beginning with the white banner that tradition ascribes to the
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
, the tribe to which Muhammad belonged. The Umayyad dynasty also used white as its dynastic color, following the personal banner of its founder,
Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
, while the Shi'ite
Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...
also chose white to highlight their opposition to the
Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Abbasid Caliphate, whose color was black. In Judaism, during the rituals of Yom Kippur, the ceremony of atonement, the
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
dresses in white, as do the members of the congregation, to restore the bonds between God and his followers. In the traditional Japanese religion of Shinto, an area of white gravel or stones marks a sacred place, called a ''niwa''. These places were dedicated to the ''kami'', spirits which had descended from the heavens or had come across the sea. Later, temples of Zen Buddhism in Japan often featured a Zen garden, where white sand or gravel was carefully raked to resemble rivers or streams, designed as objects of meditation. In the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church or also known as Mormon), White clothing is worn inside once they have been officially dedicated, due to white symbolizing purity. Many religions symbolize heaven by using a sky with white clouds. This phenomenon is not limited to western culture; in Yoruba religion, the orisha Obatala in the
Ifá Ifá is a Yoruba religion and system of divination. Its literary corpus is the ''Odu Ifá''. Orunmila is identified as the Grand Priest, as he revealed divinity and prophecy to the world. Babalawos or Iyanifas use either the divining chain kno ...
tradition is represented by white. Obatala is associated with calmness, morality, old age, and purity. In Theosophy and similar religions, the
deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
called the
Great White Brotherhood The Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophy and New Age, are said to be perfected beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans. The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the ...
are said to have white auras. In some Asian and Slavic cultures, white is considered to be a color that represents death. White also represented death in ancient Egypt, representing the lifeless desert that covered much of the country; black was held to be the color of life, representing the mud-covered fertile lands created by the flooding of the Nile and giving the country its name (''Kemet'', or "black land"). In China, Korea, and some other Asian countries, white, or more precisely, the whitish color of undyed linen, is the color of mourning and funerals. In traditional China, undyed linen clothing is worn at funerals. As time passes, the bereaved can gradually wear clothing dyed with colors, then with darker colors. Small sacks of
quicklime Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "''lime''" connotes calcium-containing inorganic ma ...
, one for each year of the life of the deceased are placed around the body to protect it against impurity in the next world, and white paper flowers are placed around the body. In China and other Asian countries, white is the color of reincarnation, showing that death is not a permanent separation from the world. In China, white is associated with the masculine (the ''yang'' of the ''yin'' and ''yang''); with the unicorn and tiger; with the fur of an animal; with the direction of west; with the element metal; and with the
autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...
season. In Japan, undyed linen white robes are worn by pilgrims for rituals of purification, and bathing in sacred rivers. In the mountains, pilgrims wear costumes of undyed
jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
to symbolize purity. A white kimono is often placed in the casket with the deceased for the journey to the other world, as white represents death sometimes. Condolence gifts, or ''kooden'', are tied with black and white ribbons and wrapped in white paper, protecting the contents from the impurities of the other world. In India, it is the color of purity, divinity, detachment and serenity. In Hindi, the name Sweta means white. In Tibetan Buddhism, white robes were reserved for the lama of a monastery. In the
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
and some other pastoral cultures, there is a strong connection between milk and white, which is considered the color of gratitude, esteem, joy, good fortune and fertility. In
Paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
, it is used for peace, innocence, illumination, and purity. It can also be used to stand for any color. White is also associated with cleansing, a Pagan practice that cleans something using the elements. In Wicca, a white-handled knife called the boline is used in rituals.


Political movements

White is often associated with monarchism. The association originally came from the white flag of the
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...
dynasty of France. White became the banner of the royalist rebellions against the French Revolution (see
Revolt in the Vendée Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
). During the Civil War which followed the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
of 1917, the White Army, a coalition of monarchists, nationalists and liberals, fought unsuccessfully against the Red Army of the Bolsheviks. A similar battle between reds and whites took place during the
Civil War in Finland The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
in the same period. The Ku Klux Klan is a
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and anti-immigrant organization which flourished in the Southern United States after the American Civil War. They wore white robes and hoods, burned crosses and violently attacked and murdered black Americans. In Iran, the White Revolution was a series of social and political reforms launched in 1963 by the last Shah of Iran before his downfall. White is also associated with peace and passive resistance. The white ribbon is worn by movements denouncing violence against women and the White Rose was a non-violent
resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...
group in Nazi Germany.


Selected national flags featuring white

White is a common color in national flags, though its symbolism varies widely. The white in the
flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...
and
flag of the United Kingdom The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in pe ...
comes from traditional red St George's Cross on a white background of the historic flag of England. The white in the
flag of France The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Irelan ...
represents either the monarchy or "white, the ancient French color" according to the Marquis de Lafayette. Many flags in the Arab world use the colors of the flag of the Arab Revolt of 1916; red, white, green and black. These include the flags of Egypt,
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, Jordan,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, Kuwait and Iraq. The Philippines also use white as their symbol for unity in their flag. File:Pavillon royal de France.svg, Flag of the
Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...
, royal family of France until the French Revolution and during the restoration of the monarchy afterwards. File:Flag of the Vatican City.svg, The
Flag of Vatican City The flag of Vatican City was adopted on 7 June 1929, the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The Vatican City flag is modeled on the 1808 yellow and white flag of the ...
(1929). The white and gold colors symbolize the colors of the keys to heaven given by Jesus Christ to Saint Peter: the gold of spiritual power, the white of worldly power. The keys have been the Papal symbol since the 13th century. File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg, The flag of the Netherlands (1572) was the first red, white and blue national flag.
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
adopted the colors for the flag of Russia. File:Flag of India.svg, The
flag of India The national flag of India, Colloquialism, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of Saffron (color)#India saffron, India saffron, white and Variations of green#India green, India green; with the ', a 24 ...
(1947). White represents "light, the path of truth". File:Flag of Ireland.svg, The
flag of Ireland The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of th ...
. According to the Irish government press office, "The green represents the older Gaelic tradition while the orange represents the supporters of William of Orange. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green'. "


Idioms and expressions

* To ''whitewash'' something is to conceal an unpleasant reality. * A ''white lie'' is an innocent lie told out of politeness. * '' White noise'' is the noise of all the frequencies of sound combined. It is used to cover up unwanted noise. * A ''white knight'' in finance is a friendly investor who steps in to rescue a company from a hostile takeover. * '' White-collar workers'' are those who work in offices, as opposed to
blue-collar worker A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
s, who work with their hands in factories or workshops. * A '' white paper'' is an authoritative report on a major issue by a team of experts; a government report outlining policy; or a short treatise whose purpose is to educate industry customers. Associating a paper with white may signify clean facts and unbiased information. * The '' white feather'' is a symbol of cowardice, particularly in Britain. It supposedly comes from cockfighting and the belief that a
cockerel The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...
sporting a white feather in its tail is likely to be a poor fighter. At the beginning of the First World War, women in England were encouraged to give white feathers to men who had not enlisted in the British Armed Forces. * In the US, a ''
white shoe firm A white-shoe firm is an American term used to describe prestigious professional services firms that have traditionally been associated with the upper-class elite who graduated from Ivy League colleges. The term is most often used to describe leadi ...
'' is an older, conservative firm, usually in a field such as banking or law. The phrase derives from the "white bucks", laced suede or buckskin shoes with red soles, long popular in the Ivy League colleges. * In Russia, the nobility are sometimes described as ''white bone'' (белая кость, bélaya kost'), commoners as ''black bone''.


Associations and symbolism


Innocence and sacrifice

In Western culture, white is the color most often associated with innocence, or purity. In the Bible and in Temple Judaism, white animals such as lambs were sacrificed to expiate sins. The white lily is considered the flower of purity and innocence, and is often associated with the Virgin Mary.


Beginnings

White is the color in Western culture most often associated with beginnings. In Christianity, children are baptized and first take communion wearing white. Christ after
the Resurrection Resurrection refers to the coming back to life of the dead. Resurrection or The Resurrection may also refer to: Supernatural * Resurrection of Jesus * Universal resurrection, often referred to by the term of art "resurrection of the dead", the ...
is traditionally portrayed dressed in white. Queen Elizabeth II wore white when she opened each session of British Parliament. In high society, debutantes traditionally wear white for their first ball.


Weddings

White has long been the traditional color worn by brides at royal weddings, but the white wedding gown for ordinary people appeared in the 19th century. Before that time, most brides wore their best Sunday clothing, of whatever color. The white lace wedding gown of Queen Victoria in 1840 had a large impact on the color and fashion of wedding dresses in both Europe and America down to the present day. File:Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.jpg, The wedding dress of Queen Victoria (1840) set the fashion for wedding dresses of the Victorian era and for the 20th century. File:MyBarong created this Custom tailored Barong Tagalog for my wedding.jpg, The Barong Tagalog is a traditional folk costume of the Philippines; this attire is worn on formal gatherings and weddings. File:Wedding kimono.jpg, Japanese formal wedding dress still used today.


Cleanliness

White is the color most associated with cleanliness. Objects which are expected to be clean, such as refrigerators and dishes, toilets and sinks, bed linen and towels, are traditionally white. White was the traditional color of the coats of doctors, nurses, scientists and laboratory technicians, though nowadays a pale blue or green is often used. White is also the color most often worn by chefs, bakers, and butchers, and the color of the aprons of waiters in French restaurants.


Ghosts, phantoms and two of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

White is the color associated with
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 rea ...
s and phantoms. In the past the dead were traditionally buried in a white shroud. Ghosts are said to be the spirits of the dead who, for various reasons, are unable to rest or enter heaven, and so walk the earth in their white shrouds. White is also connected with the paleness of death. A common expression in English is "pale as a ghost." The woman in white, Weiße Frau, or ''dame blanche'' is a familiar figure in English, German and French ghost stories. She is a spectral apparition of a female clad in white, in most cases the ghost of an ancestor, sometimes giving warning about death and disaster. The most notable Weiße Frau is the legendary ghost of the German
Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
dynasty. Seeing a white horse in a dream is said to be presentiment of death. In the Book of Revelation, the last book in the New Testament of the Bible, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are supposed to announce the
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
before the Last Judgement. The man on a
white horse A white horse is born predominantly white and stays white throughout its life. A white horse has mostly pink skin under its hair coat, and may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant ...
with a bow and arrow, according to different interpretations, represents either War and Conquest, the Antichrist, or Christ himself, cleansing the world of sin. Death rides a horse whose color is described in ancient Greek as ''khlōros'' ( χλωρός) in the original Koine Greek, which can mean either green/greenish-yellow or pale/pallid.


Opposite of black

Black and white often represent the contrast between light and darkness, day and night, male and female, good and evil. In taoism, the two complementary natures of the universe, yin and yang, are often symbolized in black and white, Ancient games of strategy, such as go and chess, use black and white to represent the two sides. In the French monarchy, white symbolized the King and his power ''par la grâce de Dieu'' ("by the grace of God") and in contrast black was the color of the queen who according to the Salic Law which excluded women from the throne (and thus from power) could never become the ruling monarch. Black and white also often represent formality and seriousness, as in the costumes of judges and priests, business suits, of formal evening dress. Monks of the Dominican Order wear a black cloak over a white habit. Until 1972, agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
were informally required by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to wear white shirts with their suits, to project the correct image of the FBI.


Names taken from white

White is the source of more names for women in western countries than any other color. Names taken from white include Alba, Albine (Latin). Blandine, Blanche and Blanchette (French); Bianca (Italian); Jennifer (Celt); Genevieve, Candice (from Latin Candida); Fenela, Fiona and Finola (Irish); Gwendoline, Gwenael, Nol(g)wen (''white woman'') (Celt), Nives (Spanish) and Zuria (Basque). In addition many names come from white flowers: Camille, Daisy, Lily, Lili, Magnolie, Jasmine, Yasemine, Leila, Marguerite, Rosalba, and others. Other names come from the white pearl; Pearl, Margarita (Latin), Margaret, Margarethe, Marga, Grete, Rita, Gitta, Marjorie, Margot.


Temples, churches and government buildings

Since ancient times, temples, churches, and many government buildings in many countries have traditionally been white, the color associated with religious and civic virtue. The Parthenon and other ancient temples of Greece, and the buildings of the
Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
were mostly made of or clad in white marble, though it is now known that some of these ancient buildings were actually brightly painted. The Roman tradition of using white stone for government buildings and churches was revived in the Renaissance and especially in the
neoclassic style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
of the 18th and 19th centuries. White stone became the material of choice for government buildings in Washington D.C. and other American cities. European cathedrals were also usually built of white or light-colored stone, though many darkened over the centuries from smoke and soot. The Renaissance architect and scholar Leon Battista Alberti wrote in 1452 that churches should be plastered white on the inside, since white was the only appropriate color for reflection and meditation. Traditional Cistercian architecture also places a high emphasis on white for similar reasons. After the Reformation, Calvinist churches in the Netherlands were whitewashed and sober inside, a tradition that was also followed in the Protestant churches of New England, such as Old North Church in Boston. File:Parthenon.jpg, Although the Parthenon in Athens (5th century BC) is white today, it was originally painted with many colors File:858MilanoDuomo.JPG, The
Cathedral of Milan Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
(1386–1965) File:Delft interieur Waalse Kerk.jpg, Dutch Reformed Church interior in
Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
, the Netherlands (16th century) File:2006Boston007.jpg, Interior of Old North Church, Boston (1723) File:WhiteHouseSouthFacade.JPG, The White House (1801), Washington D.C.


Ethnography

People of the
Caucasian race The Caucasian race (also Caucasoid or Europid, Europoid) is an obsolete racial classification of human beings based on a now-disproven theory of biological race. The ''Caucasian race'' was historically regarded as a biological taxon which, de ...
are often referred to simply as white. The United States Census Bureau defines white people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who reported "white" or wrote in entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish." White people constitute the majority of the U.S. population, with a total of 204,277,273 or 61.6% of the population in the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
.


White flag

A white flag has long been used to represent either surrender or a request for a truce. It is believed to have originated in the 15th century, during the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
between France and England, when multicolored flags, as well as firearms, came into common use by European armies. The white flag was officially recognized as a request to cease hostilities by the Geneva Convention of 1949.


Vexillology and heraldry

In English
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
, white or silver signified brightness, purity, virtue, and innocence.''American Girls Handy Book: How to Amuse Yourself and Others'', by Adelia Beard. , p. 369.


See also

* Color realism * List of colors *
Variations of white Shades of white are colors 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 theo ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * *


External links

{{Authority control Color