Most of the basic English names for colors—like red, yellow, and green—are among the oldest recorded words in our language and can be traced right back to the Old English period. One exception to that rule is the color orange, which didn’t begin to appear in the language until after oranges (the fruit) were imported into Britain from Europe in the Middle Ages. Before then, what we would describe as orange today had just to be called either red or yellow (or, if you wanted to be really specific, red-yellow). But the English language being as enormous as it is, a predictably vast vocabulary of words have been invented, borrowed, and accumulated over the centuries to describe almost every color and shade imaginable—from the precise color of a bear’s ears to the murky green of goose droppings. 19 brilliantly named examples of colors you’ve probably never heard of are listed here.
1. AUSTRALIEN
2. BANAN
3. BASTARD-AMBER
4. DRAKE’S-NECK
5. DRUNK-TANK PINK
6. FALU
7. FLAME-OF-BURNT-BRANDY
8. GINGERLINE
9. INCARNADINE
10. LABRADOR
11. LUSTY GALLANT
12. NATTIER
13. PERVENCHE
14. PUKE
15. SANG-DE-BOEUF
16. SINOPER
17. VERDITER
18. WATCHET
19. ZAFFRE
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