Puce
Puce is a dark red or purple brown color,[1] a brownish purple[2] or a "dark reddish brown."[3]
Puce | |
---|---|
Hex triplet | #CC8899 |
sRGBB (r, g, b) | (204, 136, 153) |
CMYKH (c, m, y, k) | (0, 33, 25, 20) |
HSV (h, s, v) | (345°, 33%, 80%) |
Source | 99colors.net |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Dark pink |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
Etymology
Puce is the French word for flea. The color is said to be the color of bloodstains on linen or bedsheets, even after being laundered, from a flea's droppings, or after a flea has been crushed.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates the first English use of "puce" as a color to 1778.[4] The name comes from the French word puce, or flea, which comes from the Latin word for flea, pulex (stem pulic-). According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the first French use of puce as a color name, meaning flea-color, dates to the 17th century.[5] A different source dates the first French use of puce as a color name to the 14th century.[6]
History
The color puce became popular in the late 18th century in France. It appeared in clothing at the Court of Louis XVI, and was said to be a favorite color of Marie Antoinette, though there are no portraits of her wearing it.
Puce was also a popular fashion color in 19th-century Paris. In one of his novels, Émile Zola described a woman "dressed in a gown of a dark color...between puce and the color of goose poop (caca d'oie)."[7] Victor Hugo wrote in Les Misérables, "[...] Mademoiselle Baptistine gentle, slender, frail, somewhat taller than her brother, dressed in a gown of puce-colored silk, of the fashion of 1806, which she had purchased at that date in Paris, and which had lasted ever since."[8]
Variations of puce
Puce (ISCC-NBS)
Puce (ISCC-NBS) | |
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Hex triplet | #722F37 |
sRGBB (r, g, b) | (114, 47, 55) |
CMYKH (c, m, y, k) | (0, 59, 52, 55) |
HSV (h, s, v) | (353°, 59%, 45[9]%) |
Source | ISCC-NBS |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Dark red |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
The color to the right is the color called puce in the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955). Since this color has a hue code of 353, it is a slightly purplish red.
Puce (Maerz and Paul)
Puce (M&P) | |
---|---|
Hex triplet | #A95C68 |
sRGBB (r, g, b) | (169, 92, 104) |
CMYKH (c, m, y, k) | (0, 46, 39, 34) |
HSV (h, s, v) | (351°, 46%, 66[10]%) |
Source | Maerz and Paul |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Moderate red |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
The color box to the right shows the color called puce in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul, A Dictionary of Color;[11] the color puce is displayed on page 37, Plate 7, Color Sample H4.
Puce (Pourpre color list)
Puce (Pourpre color list) | |
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Hex triplet | #4E1609 |
sRGBB (r, g, b) | (78, 22, 9) |
CMYKH (c, m, y, k) | (0, 72, 89, 69) |
HSV (h, s, v) | (11°, 89%, 31 [12]%) |
Source | Pourpre.com |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Deep brown |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
At right is the color called puce in the Pourpre.com color list, a color list widely popular in France. This is the original puce, from which all other tones of puce ultimately derive.
Puce (Pantone)
Puce (Pantone) | |
---|---|
Hex triplet | #4F3A3C |
sRGBB (r, g, b) | (79, 58, 60) |
CMYKH (c, m, y, k) | (0, 27, 24, 69) |
HSV (h, s, v) | (354°, 27%, 31[13]%) |
Source | Pantone TPX[14] |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Dark grayish reddish brown |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
The color at right is called puce in the Pantone color list.
The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #19-1518 TPX—Puce.[15]
In popular culture
- In the vintage-bottle-collecting hobby, "puce" is amongst the most desirable colors.[16]
- In the King Arthur legends, Sir Gareth fights Sir Perymones, who is called "The Puce Knight".[17][18]
- In Ulysses, Buck Mulligan wants "puce gloves" to go with his "green boots."[19]
See also
- List of colors
References
- Oxford English Dictionaries on-line
- Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition: "a brownish purple."
- Random House College Dictionary: "a dark or brownish purple," - "Brun rouge assez foncé." Le Petit Robert (1988).
- "puce" in Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed,
- The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, (1966) Oxford University Press
- Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 202; Color Sample of Puce: Page 37 Plate 7 Color Sample H4--the color sample shown as puce in Maerz & Paul is a tone of puce halfway between the U.S. and U.K. versions of puce: Puce (Maerz & Paul)
- "Vétue d'une robe sobre...entre le puce et le caca d'oie." Le Petit Robert.
- Wikisource:Les Misérables/Volume 1/Book Second/Chapter 2
- web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code #722F37 (Puce Red):
- web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code #A95C68 (Deep Puce):
- Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill
- web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code #4E1609 (French Puce):
- web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #4F3A3C (Dark Puce):
- Type the word "Puce" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color appears.
- Pantone TPX Pantone Color Finder--Type the word "Puce" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color appears:
- von Mechow, Tod (September 30, 2010). "Bottle Attributes – Beer Bottle Colors". Soda & Beer Bottles of North America. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- Smith, Bret (December 25, 2008). "Paladin (Part 3C) – The Knights of the Round Table (con't)". The Grumblin' Grognard. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- Search result, Puce Knight: Sir Thomas Malory; Keith Baines (October 12, 2001). Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table : The Classic Rendition. Penguin. pp. 146, 147, 149, 152, 159. ISBN 978-0-451-52816-2. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- Don Gifford with Robert J. Seidman, Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses, 2nd Edition, University of California Press, 1989, p. 22.