Etymoleon - Word History, the etymology podcast.

84. Colours

Leon Bailey-Green Season 1 Episode 84

This time we're tracing the origins of colour names and the terms and phrases linked to them. Learn how conditions like grapheme-colour synesthesia, where people associate letters or numbers with colours, and tetrachromacy, the ability to see a wider range of colours, got their names. Discover how colour terms like turquoise, taupe, maroon, indigo and orange entered the language, why green screen is becoming an anachronistic term, and how Queen Victoria played a role in popularising white wedding dresses, alongside other influences. Also featured are the origins of the expressions 'paint the town red' and 'red herring'.