Editor's Corner

The other day I was in quite a rush to get something interesting to you, and I raided Merriam-Webster’s webpage. I sent out their color quiz, after quickly trying it myself. I missed a few, and I heard I was not the only one. It only takes one trip to the Home Depot paint section to see the creative (and a kooky) names they invent. I thought it would be interesting to see the stories behind these colors.

Today, let’s look at a couple of the “reds.” The definitions are from M-W, with a few edits from me. The square color samples are from the quiz and additional photos are from a general image search.

madder

1: a Eurasian herb (Rubia tinctorum) with whorled leaves and small yellowish flowers

2: a moderate to strong red

The madder root is the part of the plant the color “red” comes from. Here are some different types of fabric and how bright or light madder root dye can make them.

sanguine

1: marked by eager hopefulness : confidently optimistic

2: bloodred

3a: consisting of or relating to blood

b: bloodthirsty, sanguinary

c: accompanied by, involving, or relating to bloodshed : bloody

d: of the complexion : ruddy

I can always remember sanguine being related to blood because in Spanish the word for blood is sangre, and in French it is sang. But I’ve never understood the first definition “eagerly hopeful” or “confidently optimistic.” Usually when I see blood dripping down a part of my body, the last thing I feel is “eagerly hopeful.” It’s more like, “What kind of antibacterial do I have, and how big of a bandage do I need?”

I thought maybe the etymology might help, and indeed it did! From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

sanguine:

The meaning "cheerful, hopeful, vivacious, confident" is attested by c. 1500, because these qualities were thought in old medicine to spring from an excess or predominance of blood as one of the four humors. [KC
– The four humors of Medieval medicine being blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.
⁠]

That makes so much more sense! It’s amazing to me that what stands as the definition of sanguine is from Medieval medicine.

Enjoy your day!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/