Definition: Red

Etymology

From Middle English red, from Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from the root *h₁rewdʰ-.

Cognate with West Frisian read, Low German root, rod, Dutch rood, German rot, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål rød, Norwegian Nynorsk raud; also Welsh rhudd, Latin ruber, rufus, Tocharian A rtär, Tocharian B ratre, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός or eruthrós), Albanian pruth (redhead), Russian ру́дый or rúdyj (red, redhaired). Czech rudý, Lithuanian raúdas, Serbo-Croatian riđ (reddish, red), Sanskrit रुधिर or rudhirá (red, bloody).

Adjective

red (comparative redder or more red, superlative reddest or most red)

Having red (noun) as its color.
The girl wore a red skirt.
(of hair) Having an orange-brown or orange-blond color; ginger.
Her hair had red highlights.
(of the skin) With a red hue due to embarrassment or sunburn.
(of a dog or its coat) Having a brown color.
(card games, of a card) Of the hearts or diamonds suits. Compare black (of the spades or clubs suits)
I got two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.
(politics, often capitalized) Supportive of, related to, or dominated by a political party or movement represented by the color red:
1. Left-wing parties and movements, chiefly socialist or communist, including the U.K. Labour party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
  The red-black grand coalition in Germany.
2. (US politics) The U.S. Republican Party.
  I used to live in a red state.
(astronomy) Of the lower-frequency region of the (typically visible) part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
(particle physics) Having a color charge of red.

Derived terms

blood-red
blue-red
cherry-red
code red
dark red
infra-red
red alert
red ant
red ash
red band
red bean
red beet
redbird
red blood cell
red book
redbud
red carpet
red cedar
redcoat
Red Cross
red currant
redden
reddish
red dwarf
red elm
redeye
red flag
red fox
red giant
red grape
red hair
redhead
redheaded
red herring
red leaf
red-letter
red light
red meat
red nightshade
red noise
red oak
red onion
red pepper
red pine
red planet
red poppy
red ribbon
red sauce
red scare
Red Sea
red snapper
red sorrel
red spruce
red squirrel
red state
red supergiant
red tape
red tea
red tide
red velvet
red velvet cake
redwing
red-winged blackbird
red wolf
redwood
ruby red
yellow-red

Noun

red (countable and uncountable, plural reds)

Any of a range of colors having the longest wavelengths, 670 nm, of the visible spectrum; a primary additive color for transmitted light: the color obtained by subtracting green and blue from white light using magenta and yellow filters; the color of blood, ripe strawberries, etc.
Red can be seen as hot or angry.
A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.
(snooker) One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colors.
Red wine.
Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red color.
(particle physics) One of the three color charges for quarks.

Derived terms

beet red
blood red
cherry red
wine red

Credits

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