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alizarin red

alizarin red

9.4
A bright red dye that colors wool and other fabrics
  • noun
  • /əˈlɪzərɪn rɛd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : rojo de alizarina
  • Albino sheep are often dyed with alizarin red to create strikingly bright wool products.

Examples

  • To achieve a vibrant scarlet color, the artist used alizarin red dye on the wool fabric.

  • The boiled penis was transferred to a plastic tube containing 5% KOH and a pinch of alizarin red powder.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The fabric store offered several shades, including alizarin red for those who wanted bold colors.

Synonyms

alizarin crimson
vsalizarin red
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A bright red colour used in paint and for dyeing cloth

refers more narrowly to wool scarlet dyeing rather than broader pigments and paints
alizarin carmine
vsalizarin red
  • Specialized
9.9

A red dye used to color wool and stain samples for study

is the general term for several similar synthetic dyes
alizarine red
vsalizarin red
  • Specialized
9.0

A bright orange-red color used to dye cloth

is a scarlet red used especially for wool rather than orange tinges

How Red

scarlet
35 2.3
vermilion
6 7.8
alizarin red
  • Specialized
9.4
red
51 1.0
rose
54 1.0

Surface Forms

alizarin red singular
alizarin reds plural

Morphology

alizarin + red

The phrase 'alizarin red' is directly compositional: 'alizarin' names the dye/substance and 'red' specifies its colour, so together they denote a red dye made from alizarin. This noun+color naming pattern is common and predictable (e.g. 'cochineal red', 'alizarin crimson'), making the meaning transparent to a learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Alizarin red gets its name from alizarin, a red dye first made from the root of the madder plant, which people used to colour cloth a bright scarlet. Because that dye made a strong red, alizarin red now refers to a powerful colourant used to dye fabrics or to 'stain' samples in art and the lab.