kermes

See also: Kermes, kermés, and kermès

English

Alternative forms

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.[1] For the semantic development, compare vermilion from Latin vermis (worm) and its cognates.

Noun

kermes (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

Descendants

  • Translingual: Kermes

Translations

See also

References

  1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), kermes”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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