Inspiration in the color orchid.
Learn the history and meaning of the color orchid, a bright purple with a blush of pink named after the unforgettable flower.
How to use the color orchid.
Other shades of orchid.
The color orchid sits on the warm end of the purple spectrum.
Tap into the psychology of the color orchid.
Combine orchid with other colors.
Information about orchid color.
The orchid HEX code picker is #DA70D6. This is the bright purple that seems to shimmer with shades of pink.
The color orchid can be achieved in a RGB space with 218 red, 112 green, and 214 blue. Orchid color can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 0% cyan, 49% magenta, 2% yellow, and 15% black.
What is the meaning of the color orchid?
Orchid color was named after the richly colored flower. Though orchids come in several shades, bright purple with a blush of pink is a color instantly associated with the most popular bloom. Orchid color is as captivating as its namesake, and represents creativity, confidence, and delight.
The color orchid is a strong purple with a blushing pink personality, ready to bring joy to design, fashion, and art.
The history of orchid color.
The color orchid and its flower entered English a little late.
The orchid flower was originally called orchis in English, borrowed directlyfrom its Latin root. The term orchid was introduced in 1845 by a botanist in England who was studying the flower. The color orchid was first used to describe things other than the floret in 1915.
The color orchid took on the symbolism of its namesake flower.
Orchids have long been considered symbols of love due to their purple-pink coloring. They also represent opulence due to their rarity. During the Victorian era, shades of purple gained great relevance when they became the first manufactured synthetic dyes. The color orchid represented luxury and richness when these dyes boomed in high society.
Orchid color gained recognition outside of botany in the 1900s.
The color orchid gained mainstream adoption after its introduction to color dictionaries in the early 20th century. In 1949, orchid color was finally introduced to the Crayola crayon box. The X11 colors set in 1987 gave orchid color another boost with its inclusion in HTML coding colors. The color orchid continued to gain fame after its selection as “best friends” for Kids’ Choice Colors and then as the Pantone Color of the Year in 2014.
The color orchid across different cultures.
English describes the orchid by its shape, not its color.
Though the color orchid has seen wide adoption and growing popularity, the orchid flower was originally named after the shape of its bulb. Below the surface, the orchid roots from a teardrop-shaped tuber that was named orchid from the Greek word orchis, meaning testicle.
The Ancient Greeks saw more meaning in the orchid.
The same observation that led to the name of the orchid also led to the Ancient Greeks’ beliefs around the purple bloom. Because of the shape of the tubers, in Ancient Greece it was thought that a woman could eat an orchid to guarantee that she would have a male child. The color orchid was then associated with fertility overall.
Other societies assigned other meanings to orchid.
In Ancient China, it was believed that orchids had healing properties. Specifically, orchid color and the flower were seen as remedies for lung conditions. When shades of purple boomed in the Victorian period, the orchid flower and orchid color again mesmerized society. The flower remained rare and expensive, and so the plant and the color orchid represented wealth.