kermes

See also: Kermes, kermés, and kermès

English

Alternative forms

• chermes, chermez, kermez

Etymology

PIE word
*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. For the semantic development, compare vermilion from Latin vermis (“worm”) and its cognates.

Noun

kermes (countable and uncountable, plural kermes)

1. (countable) Any of several insects of the genus Kermes.
2. (uncountable) A crimson dye made from the crushed bodies of these insects.

Derived terms

• kermes mineral
• kermes oak (Quercus coccifera)
• kermesite

Descendants

• → Translingual: Kermes

Translations

the insect or the dye — see also carmine

• Ancient Greek: κόκκος (kókkos)
• Hindi: किरिमदाना (hi) m (kirimdānā), क़िरमिज़ m (qirmiz), क़िरमिज़ी (qirmizī), किरमिजी (hi) (kirmijī)
• Polish: alkiermes m
• Spanish: quermes m

See also

• Kermes on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• OED

Anagrams

• Remkes