Word Origins | Kirmizi, Beyaz

Kırmızı: red EN[1]

i. (Ar. ḳirmiz > ḳirmizі “kırmızla ilgili”den)

1. Kan rengi, al renk: “Kırmızı ona hiç yakışmaz.”

2. kısa. (Trafikte) Kırmızı ışık: “Kırmızı yandı, dur!”

3. sıf. Bu renkte olan: Zil, şal ve gül. Bu bahçede raksın bütün hızı / Şevk akşamında Endülüs üç def’a kırmızı (Yahyâ Kemal). Kara sütunlar, kırmızı işâretler, mor noktalar ve çizgiler, çizgiler… (Refik H. Karay). Gemilerim kırmızı bayraklı (Orhan V. Kanık).

Kırmızı dipli bal mumu ile dâvet etmedik ya: Gelmesi için yalvarmadık ya.

Kırmızımsı sıf. (< kırmızı+msı) Kırmızıya çalan, kırmızıya kaçan.

Kırmızımtırak sıf. (< kırmızı+mtırak) Kırmızıya çalan, kırmızımsı.

Beyaz: white EN [2]

(ﺑﻴﺎﺽ) i. (Ar. beyāż)

1. Kar renginde olan rengin adı, ak. Karşıtı: SİYAH: “Beyaz ona çok yakışır.”

2. Teninin rengi açık olan kimse. Karşıtı: ESMER: Beyazların adı var / Esmerlerin tadı var / Yine geçme beyazdan / Esmerin inadı var (Mâni).

3. Bir yazının temize çekilmiş şekli. Karşıtı: MÜSVEDDE: Evvelâ müsveddesini gören ulemâ beyazını ricâ ettiklerinden dolayı “ha” harfine varıncaya kadar birinci cildi beyaz edilerek zamânın âlimlerine arzolunmuş idi (Kâtip Çelebi’den Seç.).

4. argo. Eroin.

5. sıf. Kar renginde olan, ak renkli: Gerer beyaz kuğular nâzenin boyunlarını (Yahyâ Kemal). Başında bulutlardan beyaz örtüsü / Büyük annem namaz kılmaktadır (Câhit S. Tarancı).

6. sıf. ve i. Beyaz ırktan olan (kimse): “Afrika beyazlara karşı direnmeye başladı.” Mısır vekîlinin yalısı da beyaz ve siyah bir halayık (…) kadrosuyle medeniyet ve ihtişam devirlerinin son merkezlerinden biriydi (Sâmiha Ayverdi).

Beyaz bayrak çekmek: Teslim olmak: Müdâfaa etmeye çalıştıkları kaleye beyaz bayrak çekmek zamânını sabır ve ıztırapla beklemekte idiler (Sâmiha Ayverdi). Beyaz (Beyazlar) giymek: Beyaz renkli elbise giymek: “Beyazlarını giy, sana çok yakışıyor.” Sarı giyme söz olur / Beyaz giyme toz olur (Mâni). 

Beyaz harf: matbaa. Baskıda açık renk (tabiî renkte) çıkan harf çeşidi [Koyusuna siyah harf denir]. 

Beyaz üzerine buyrultu: târih. Sadrâzamlar tarafından doğrudan doğruya verilen yazılı emir. Beyaz üzerine fermân-ı âlî (hatt-ı hümâyun): târih. 

Pâdişahların doğrudan doğruya kendileri yazmak veya yazdırmak sûretiyle verdikleri emir: Hekimbaşı efendiye beyaz üzerine fermân-ı âlî ısdârıyle tenbih ve te’kid (…) fî-mâba’d müceddeden tabip ve cerrah ve ispençiyar dükkânı küşat ettirilmemesi… (Mec. Um. Bel.). I. Abdülhamid, “Benim bir vaktim yoktur ki kalem elimden düşmez, vallâhü’l-azim düşmez” diyen ve en fazla beyaz üzerine hatt-ı hümâyun yazan dikkate değer bir şahsiyettir (Beşir Ayvazoğlu).

Beyaza çekmek (Beyaz etmek): eski. Müsvedde hâlinde olan bir yazıyı temize çekmek: Birinci cilt beyaz edilerek zamânın âlimlerine arzolunmuş idi (Kâtip Çelebi’den Seç.).

(Bem)beyaz Bk. BEMBEYAZ

Beyazımsı sıf. (< beyaz+ı+msı) Beyaza çalan, beyaza yakın, beyazımtırak.
Beyazımtırak sıf. (< beyaz+ı+mtırak) Beyaza yakın, beyazımsı.

[1] red(adj.1)

"of a bright, warm color resembling that of blood or of the highest part of the primery rainbow" [Century Dictionary], Middle English rēd, redde, read, reid, from Old English rēad, used of various shades of purple, crimson, scarlet, pink, etc.; also red clothes, dye, ink, wine, or paint, also "having a ruddy or reddish complexion; red-haired, red-bearded;" from Proto-Germanic *rauthan (source also of Old Norse rauðr, Danish rød, Old Saxon rod, Old Frisian rad, Middle Dutch root, Dutch rood, German rot, Gothic rauþs).

This is reconstructed to be from a PIE root *reudh- "red, ruddy," the only color for which a definite common PIE root word has been found. It also is the root of native ruddy, rust, and, via Latin, ruby, rubric, russet, etc.

Along with dead, bread (n.), lead (n.1), its long vowel shortened in or after Middle English. The surname Read, Reid, Reade, etc. represents the old form of the adjective and retains the original Old English long vowel pronunciation. It corresponds to Brown, Black, White; Red itself being rare as a surname. As the color designation of Native Americans in English from 1580s.

In fixed comparisons, red as blood (Old English), roses (mid-13c.), cherry (c. 1400). From Old English as the color characteristic of inflammation, blistering, etc. Of the complexion, lips, etc., "ruddy, rosy, red" (c. 1200); also of person with a healthy complexion or skin color; to be red in the face as a result of powerful emotion or agitation is by c. 1200; to see red "get angry" is an American English expression attested by 1898.

Red as the characteristic color of "British possessions" on a map is attested from 1885. Red-white-and-blue in reference to American patriotism, from the colors of the flag, is from 1840; in a British context, in reference to the Union flag, 1852.

crimson(n.)

"highly chromatic deep red color," early 15c., cremesin, "cloth dyed deep purplish-red," also as an adjective, "of a crimson color," from Old Italian carmesi, cremesi (c. 1300), later carmisino, cremesinus, "crimson color; cochineal dye," from Arabic qirmizī (see kermes). For similar transfer of the dye word to generic use for "red," compare Old Church Slavonic čruminu, Russian čermnyj"red," from the same source. The French form in 15c.-16c. when the word entered English was cramoisin. "The word in Italian came from Arabic, and the word in all other European languages came from Italian via exports of silk cloths from Italy." ["English Words of Arabic Ancestry"]

kermes(n.)

c. 1600, "shield louse (Coccus ilicis) that yields a red dye" (1590s of the tree on which the insects live), from Medieval Latin cremesinus (also source of French kermès, Italian chermes, Spanish carmes), from Arabic qirmiz "kermes," from Sanskrit krmi-ja a compound meaning "(red dye) produced by a worm."The word crimson traces back through Spanish, Arabic, Persian, and ultimately to Sanskrit, describing a deep red dye from the kermes insect, meaning "produced by a worm" (kṛmi-ja). It entered English in the Middle Ages (Middle English cremesin, Old French cramoisin) to name the prized color from the insect dye, signifying luxury, passion, and power in clothing.

Sanskrit: kṛmija (कृमिज) - "born of a worm" (kṛmi = worm, -ja = born/produced).

Middle Persian/Arabic: qirmiz / qirmizī (قرمزی) - referring to the kermes insect and its red dye.

Old Spanish/Medieval Latin:cremesín / carmesinus - adopted the Arabic term for the dye.

Old French: cramoisin - the French form of the word.

English: crimson / cremesin - entered English in the 15th century, initially for the dyed cloth, later the color itself.

Connection to Dye

The word's origin is tied to the kermes insect, which lives on oak trees and produces a vibrant red dye, highly valued for royal and ecclesiastical garments in medieval times.

Other words like carmine and even vermilion share similar roots from the same insect source, highlighting the importance of this dye in history.

[2] white(adj.)

 Middle English whit, "of the color of milk or snow, fully luminous and devoid of hue," from Old English hwit "bright, radiant; clear, fair," also as a noun (see separate entry), from Proto-Germanic *hweit-, according to Watkins from suffixed form of PIE root *kweit- "white; to shine."

As a surname, originally with reference to fair hair or complexion, it is one of the oldest in English, being well-established before the Conquest. By late 13c. as the color of hair in old age. In early use also the color of lustrous metal, especially "silver," hence such expressions as white the hand "bribe" (early 14c.).

The meaning "morally pure" was in Old English. In Middle English the figurative use was "gracious, friendly, favorable." The color's association with royalist causes dates to late 18c.

The slang sense of "honorable, fair" is by 1877, American English, based on race prejudice. The meaning "of those races (chiefly European or of European extraction) characterized by light complexion" is recorded from c. 1600; the meaning "characteristic of or pertaining to white people" is from 1852, American English. White folks for "white people" in Black English is by 1929.

White supremacy is attested from 1868 [John H. Van Evrie, M.D., "White Supremacy and Negro Subordination," New York, 1868]. White-chauvinism is by 1946. White flight of caucasians out of inner-city areas is attested by 1966, American English. White privilege, "preferential treatment of caucasians" is from 1960, originally in South African contexts, although there is an isolated American use from 1928.

White way "brightly illuminated street in a big city" is from 1908. The white flag of truce or surrender is attested from c. 1600. White lie is attested from 1741. White Christmas in reference to snow is attested from 1847. White water "river rapids" is recorded from 1580s. White lightning "inferior whiskey" is from 1921.

White Russian "language of Byelorussia" is recorded from 1850; the mixed drink is by 1968 (with the note of the alternative name Russian Bear.) Astronomical white dwarf is from 1924. White witch, one who uses the power for good, is from 1620s. White House as the name of the U.S. presidential residence is recorded from 1811.

Germanic cognates include Old Saxon and Old Frisian hwit, Old Norse hvitr, Dutch wit, Old High German hwiz, German weiß, Gothic hveits.

The PIE root is also reconstructed to be the source of Sanskrit svetah "white;" Old Church Slavonic sviteti "to shine," svetu "light;" Lithuanian šviesti "to shine," švaityti "to brighten."

white(adj.)

 

Middle English whit, "of the color of milk or snow, fully luminous and devoid of hue," from Old English hwit "bright, radiant; clear, fair," also as a noun (see separate entry), from Proto-Germanic *hweit-, according to Watkins from suffixed form of PIE root *kweit- "white; to shine."

As a surname, originally with reference to fair hair or complexion, it is one of the oldest in English, being well-established before the Conquest. By late 13c. as the color of hair in old age. In early use also the color of lustrous metal, especially "silver," hence such expressions as white the hand "bribe" (early 14c.).

The meaning "morally pure" was in Old English. In Middle English the figurative use was "gracious, friendly, favorable." The color's association with royalist causes dates to late 18c.

The slang sense of "honorable, fair" is by 1877, American English, based on race prejudice. The meaning "of those races (chiefly European or of European extraction) characterized by light complexion" is recorded from c. 1600; the meaning "characteristic of or pertaining to white people" is from 1852, American English. White folks for "white people" in Black English is by 1929.

White supremacy is attested from 1868 [John H. Van Evrie, M.D., "White Supremacy and Negro Subordination," New York, 1868]. White-chauvinism is by 1946. White flight of caucasians out of inner-city areas is attested by 1966, American English. White privilege, "preferential treatment of caucasians" is from 1960, originally in South African contexts, although there is an isolated American use from 1928.

White way "brightly illuminated street in a big city" is from 1908. The white flag of truce or surrender is attested from c. 1600. White lie is attested from 1741. White Christmas in reference to snow is attested from 1847. White water "river rapids" is recorded from 1580s. White lightning "inferior whiskey" is from 1921.

White Russian "language of Byelorussia" is recorded from 1850; the mixed drink is by 1968 (with the note of the alternative name Russian Bear.) Astronomical white dwarf is from 1924. White witch, one who uses the power for good, is from 1620s. White House as the name of the U.S. presidential residence is recorded from 1811.

Germanic cognates include Old Saxon and Old Frisian hwit, Old Norse hvitr, Dutch wit, Old High German hwiz, German weiß, Gothic hveits.

The PIE root is also reconstructed to be the source of Sanskrit svetah "white;" Old Church Slavonic sviteti "to shine," svetu "light;" Lithuanian šviesti "to shine," švaityti "to brighten."