kermes
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editPIE word |
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*kʷŕ̥mis |
First attested ca. 1600, from French kermès, from Medieval Latin cremesinus (compare Italian chermes, Spanish carmes), from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz) (whence also Portuguese quermes, alquermes), from a Persian word meaning “worm-colored” (compare modern Persian قرمز (qermez)), ultimately Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš (“worm”), possibly via borrowing from a Sanskrit formation. Related to carmine and crimson.[1] For the semantic development, compare vermilion from Latin vermis (“worm”) and its cognates.
Noun
editkermes (countable and uncountable, plural kermes)
- (countable) Any of several insects of the genus Kermes.
- (uncountable) A crimson dye made from the crushed bodies of these insects.
Derived terms
editDescendants
edit- → Translingual: Kermes
Translations
editthe insect or the dye — see also carmine
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “kermes”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
editCategories:
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *kʷŕ̥mis
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English terms derived from Persian
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian
- English terms derived from Sanskrit
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English indeclinable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Scale insects