Orchid or Ballockwort

a1_20160207_20160207_Margate_037_6000 x 4000-3
Resting spot in Margate,  February 2016

 

#e6a8d7 color imageHex colour reference:  E6A8D7

A colourful note:  The first recorded use of orchid as a color name in English was in 1915, though the actual shade referred to can vary from grayish purple through purplish pink to strong reddish purple.  Interestingly, the etymology of orchid derives from the Greek word orchis which means testicle, due to the appearance of the roots of the plants and back in the 1300s, in the days of Middle English, it was called ballockwort.

The shade that became a Crayola crayon  is in the middle of the tone possibilities: a dusky pink with a hint of purple.  Actually, it joined the Crayola family in 1949, known as Medium Red Violet, and was renamed as orchid in 1958.

 

aDSC_0636_ppCopyright Debbie Smyth, 7 March 2016

 

 

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