azure

views updated May 29 2018

az·ure / ˈazhər/ • adj. bright blue in color, like a cloudless sky. ∎ Heraldry blue. • n. 1. a bright blue color. ∎ poetic/lit. the clear sky. 2. a small butterfly (Celastrina and other genera, family Lycaenidae) typically blue or purplish, with color differences between the sexes.

azure

views updated May 11 2018

azurelapis lazuli; bright or clear blue (colour). XIV. ME. asur(e) — OF. asur, (also mod.) azur — medL. azur(i)um — Arab. al-lāzaward, i.e. AL-2, Pers. lāzhward, lājward LAPIS LAZULI, blue.

azure

views updated May 21 2018

azure the heraldic term for blue. Recorded from Middle English (denoting a blue dye) the word comes via Old French and medieval Latin from Arabic al ‘the’ + lāzaward (from Persian lāžwardlapis lazuli’).

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