Vermeillon
/vərˈmɪljən/noun
An archaic or variant spelling of vermilion, meaning a vivid bright-red pigment or color.
Did you know?The word’s ancestry is connected to Latin vermiculus, “little worm,” referring to scale insects whose bodies supplied red dye, although vermilion pigment itself was commonly made from cinnabar.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wr̥mis
“Worm or crawling creature”
Classical Latin
Latin
vermis
“Worm; a creeping creature”
Late Latin
Latin
vermiculus
“Little worm; a diminutive form of vermis”
12th–13th Century
Old French
vermeil
“Bright red; scarlet, later associated with red dye and pigment”
14th–15th Century
Anglo-French/Middle English
vermeiloun
“A vivid red color or pigment; a variant form related to vermilion”
Modern English
English
vermeillon
“An archaic or variant spelling of vermilion”
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