Lilac is a light shade of
purple
Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...
representing the average color of most
lilac
''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly ...
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s. The colors of some lilac flowers may be equivalent to the colors shown below as ''pale lilac'', ''rich lilac'', or ''deep lilac''. However, there are other lilac flowers that are colored
red-violet
Red-violet is a rich color of high medium saturation about 3/4 of the way between red and magenta, closer to magenta than to red. In American English, this color term is sometimes used in color theory as one of the purple colors—a non-Spectru ...
.
The first recorded use of the
term ''lilac'' as an
English color name was in 1775.
Variations
Pale lilac
Pale lilac or Pale lavender is the color represented as ''lilac'' in the
ISCC-NBS color list. The source of this color is sample 209 in the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955).
Bright lilac
The color bright lilac (displayed adjacent) is the color labeled ''lilac'' by
Crayola
Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing and retail company specializing in list of art media, art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered ...
in 1994 as one of the colors in its
Magic Scent specialty box of colors.
Rich lilac
Rich lilac, a rich tone of lilac labeled ''lilac'' at Pourpre.com (a popular
French color list), is shown adjacent. Another name for this color is bright French lilac.
French lilac
The color French lilac is displayed adjacent. This color was formulated for use in
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
, where a medium dark violet color is desired. The first recorded use of ''French lilac'' as a color name in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
was in 1814.
The
normalized color coordinates for French lilac are identical to
pomp and power, first recorded as a color name in English in 1950.
In nature
The
lilac-breasted roller is a member of the
roller family of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s. It is widely distributed in
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
and the southern
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
.
In culture
Lilac was a color associated with the final stages of
mourning
Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one.
The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...
in English and European cultures.
Effect
lilac chaser.
Book and film ''
Lilac Ball''.
See also
*
Lavender
''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...
*
Lilac chaser (
illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people.
Illusions may ...
of
visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual percept ...
)
*
List of colors
These are the lists of colors;
* List of colors: A–F
* List of colors: G–M
* List of colors: N–Z
* List of colors (alphabetical)
* List of colors by shade
* List of color palettes
* List of Crayola crayon colors
* List of RAL colours
* List o ...
References
External links
*
{{Color topics
Shades of violet
Shades of pink
Purple