源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

red

/ɹɛd/
The colour of the setting sun, blood, and strawberries; the colour which is evoked by the longest visible wavelengths (between about 625–740 nm), and a primary additive colour.

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    Click a node to zoom in · double-click to open it

    Origin

    Inherited from Middle English red, from Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from *h₁rewdʰ- + *-ós.

    Cognates

    See also West Frisian read, Low German root, rood, rot, rod, Dutch rood, German rot, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål rød, Norwegian Nynorsk raud, Swedish röd, Faroese reyður, Icelandic rauður; also Welsh rhudd, Latin ruber, rufus, Tocharian A rtär, Tocharian B ratre, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós), Albanian pruth (“redhead”), Russian ру́дый (rúdyj) ("red", "redhaired"). Czech rudý, Lithuanian raúdas, Finnish rauta, Estonian raud, Serbo-Croatian riđ ("reddish", "red"), Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬛𐬌𐬙𐬀 (raoidita), Sanskrit रुधिर (rudhirá, “red, bloody”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishred
      • inheritedOld Englishrēad “red”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*raud
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*raudaz
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*h₁rowdʰós
              • partProto-Indo-European*h₁rewdʰ- “red”
              • partProto-Indo-European*-ós
                • partProto-Indo-European*-os

    Related: West Frisian read, Low German root, Dutch rood, German rot, da,nb rød, Norwegian Nynorsk raud, Swedish röd, Faroese reyður, Icelandic rauður, Welsh rhudd, Latin ruber, Tocharian A rtär, Tocharian B ratre, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός, Albanian pruth, Czech rudý, Lithuanian raúdas, Finnish rauta, Estonian raud, Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬛𐬌𐬙𐬀, Sanskrit रुधिर

    Meanings

    noun
    1. The colour of the setting sun, blood, and strawberries; the colour which is evoked by the longest visible wavelengths (between about 625–740 nm), and a primary additive colour.
    2. A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.
    3. One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colours.
    4. Red wine.
    5. Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red colour.
    6. A red variety of an animal, such as a red kangaroo or a red squirrel.
    adj
    1. Of a red hue.
    2. Having an orange-brown or orange-blond colour; ginger.
    3. Having a redder hue than usual due to embarrassment, anger, sunburn, etc.; flushed.
    4. Having a brown color.
    5. Of the hearts or diamonds suits. Compare black (“of the spades or clubs suits”)
    6. Left-wing parties and movements, chiefly socialist or communist, including the U.K. Labour party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
    intj
    1. Used to indicate that the speaker wishes current sexual activity to stop immediately.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: red