oxblood red
- noun
- /ˈɑksˌblaʊd rɛd/
- He painted the living room walls in a deep oxblood red that added warmth and sophistication to the space.
Examples
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The dress she wore to the gala was a stunning oxblood red, captivating everyone in the room.
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The artist chose an oxblood red for the canvas, aiming to evoke strong emotions through its rich hue.
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Maybe it was one of the infantas; she can't quite remember in their balcony draped with velvet of oxblood red held back by swags made of pure gold.
Fiction book (1993)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A strong color like blood or tomatoes
18
3.6
A dark reddish brown color
12
2.0
A deep red like the color of blood
11
1.0
A strong reddish-brown color like old metal
3
2.1
A brown color with a hint of red
2
3.0
A reddish-brown or orange-brown color like old metal
1
1.0
A brown color with a touch of red
1
3.0
A deep red color like red wine
1
2.5
A brown color with a slight red tint
1
2.3
A color like brown mixed with red
1
6.5
A reddish-brown color like the fur of some dogs
1
2.8
A brown color with a red tint like old metal left outside
1
3.4
A red color with a brown-orange hint like rust
1
3.4
A reddish brown color like rust
Having a very dark red color like red wine
A deep brown color with a red tint like dark wood
A warm red-brown color often used in paint and design
A deep warm red with a slight brown tone
A brown color with a red-orange tone
How Dark
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'oxblood' names a deep, ox-like red hue and 'red' marks the color category, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a dark reddish color. This X + red color-naming pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the expression immediately comprehensible to B1 learners who know the parts.
Etymology
Oxblood red comes from the deep color of dried blood from an ox, a shade people long ago used to dye leather and cloth. That's why today oxblood red means 'a dark brownish-red color'.