Scarlet
/ˈskɑːr.lɪt/noun
A vivid red color, or a cloth dyed that color.
Did you know?In medieval Europe, scarlet cloth was a prestige textile, and the word passed through Old French from a Persian term for a rich fabric, not originally a color at all.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sek-
“to cut”
Late Latin
Latin
scarlatum
“a type of rich cloth, especially costly dyed fabric”
Old French
Old French
escarlate
“scarlet cloth; a bright red cloth”
Middle English
English
scarlat
“scarlet cloth or the color of that cloth”
Modern English
English
scarlet
“a vivid red color; also the cloth or dye of that color”