Powder blue
Encyclopedia
Powder blue may refer to two different colors.
The paler variant is often associated with powder snow.
The first recorded use of powder blue (meaning the pale blue color) as a color name in English
was in 1774.
, a crushed-glass product used in laundering
and dying
applications and of a deep, dark blue
hue
. The cobalt blue
colored glass was itself made from zaffre
.
The first recorded use of powder blue (meaning the dark blue color) as a color name in English
was in 1707.
The paler variant is often associated with powder snow.
Powder blue (web color powder blue)
The web color powder blue is shown on the right.The first recorded use of powder blue (meaning the pale blue color) as a color name in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was in 1774.
Dark powder blue (smalt)
The original, darker powder blue color referred to smaltSmalt
Smalt is powdered glass, colored to a deep powder blue hue using cobalt ions derived from cobalt oxide . Smalt is used as a pigment in painting, and for surface decoration of other types of glass and ceramics, and other media...
, a crushed-glass product used in laundering
Laundry
Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
and dying
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
applications and of a deep, dark blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
. The cobalt blue
Cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a cool, slightly desaturated blue color, historically made using cobalt salts of alumina. It is used in certain ceramics and painting; the different cobalt pigment smalt, based on silica, is more often used directly in tinted transparent glasses...
colored glass was itself made from zaffre
Zaffre
Zaffre, a pre-scientific substance , is a deep blue pigment obtained by roasting cobalt ore, and is made of either an impure form cobalt oxide or impure cobalt arseniate...
.
The first recorded use of powder blue (meaning the dark blue color) as a color name in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was in 1707.