colours


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Related to colours: Primary colours

colours

(ˈkʌləz) or

colors

pl n
1. (Heraldry)
a. the flag that indicates nationality
b. military the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the colours
2. (Military) a pair of silk flags borne by a military unit, esp British, comprising the Queen's Colour showing the unit's crest, and the Regimental Colour showing the crest and battle honours
3. true nature or character (esp in the phrase show one's colours)
4. a distinguishing badge or flag, as of an academic institution
5. (General Sporting Terms) sport Brit a badge or other symbol denoting membership of a team, esp at a school or college
6. informal a distinguishing embroidered patch denoting membership of a motorcycle gang
7. nail one's colours to the mast
a. to refuse to admit defeat
b. to declare openly one's opinions or allegiances
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.colours - a distinguishing emblem; "his tie proclaimed his school colors"
emblem - special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.
plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
2.colours - a flag that shows its nationalitycolours - a flag that shows its nationality  
ensign - colors flown by a ship to show its nationality
flag - emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
إمْتِياز، فَوْزعَلَممَلابِس مُلَوَّنَه مُمَيِّزَه
barvypraporřazení do družstvavlajka
faneflagjockeydragtkomme med på holdet
nemzeti zászló
borîi, merkiflagg, fánikomast í liî
zaradenie do mužstva
bayrakflâmaformasancaktakıma girme

colour

(American) color (ˈkalə) noun
1. a quality which objects have, and which can be seen, only when light falls on them. What colour is her dress?; Red, blue and yellow are colours.
2. paint(s). That artist uses water-colours.
3. (a) skin-colour varying with race. people of all colours.
4. vividness; interest. There's plenty of colour in his stories.
adjective
(of photographs etc) in colour, not black and white. colour film; colour television.
verb
to put colour on; to paint. They coloured the walls yellow.
ˈcoloured adjective
1. having colour. She prefers white baths to coloured baths.
2. belonging to a dark-skinned race. There are only two white families living in this street – the rest are coloured.
noun
(sometimes used impolitely) a dark-skinned person especially of Negro origin.
ˈcolourful adjective
1. full of colour. a colourful pattern.
2. vivid and interesting. a colourful account of his experiences.
ˈcolouring noun
1. something used to give colour. She put pink colouring in the icing.
2. complexion. She had very high colouring (= a very pink complexion).
ˈcolourless adjective
1. without colour. Water is colourless.
2. not lively or interesting. a colourless young woman.
ˈcolours noun plural
1. the distinction of winning a place in the team in some sports. He won his cricket colours last season.
2. a flag. Army regiments salute the colours when on parade.
3. a tunic of certain colours worn by a jockey to show that his race-horse belongs to a certain person.
ˈcolour-blind adjective
unable to tell the difference between certain colours. As he was colour-blind he could not distinguish between red and green.
ˈcolour scheme noun
an arrangement or choice of colours in decorating a house etc.
ˌoff-ˈcolour adjective
not feeling well. He was a bit off-colour the morning after the party.
colour in
to put colour into (drawings etc). He coloured in all the oblong shapes on the page.
show oneself in one's true colours
to show or express one's real character, opinion etc. He pretends to be very generous but he showed himself in his true colours when he refused to give money to charity.
with flying colours
with great success. He passed his exam with flying colours.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
"Distinction of sides is intended by Nature to imply distinction of colours" -- such was the sophism which in those days flew from mouth to mouth, converting whole towns at a time to the new culture.
Colour, if Tradition speaks the truth, once for the space of half a dozen centuries or more, threw a transient splendour over the lives of our ancestors in the remotest ages.
And with fifty mirrors around you, which flattered your play of colours, and repeated it!
Out of colours ye seem to be baked, and out of glued scraps.
Why, I always supposed everyone thought in colours. It must be very tiresome if you don't."
Indeed; he knew better than any one else at Haarlem or Leyden -- the two towns which boast the best soil and the most congenial climate -- how to vary the colours, to modify the shape, and to produce new species.
Both the impostors begged him to be so kind as to step closer, and asked him if it were not a beautiful texture and lovely colours. They pointed to the empty loom, and the poor old minister went forward rubbing his eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing there.
SOCRATES: And if he had said, Tell me what they are?--you would have told him of other colours which are colours just as much as whiteness.
Forbes, E., on colours of shells; on abrupt range of shells in depth; on poorness of palaeontological collections; on continuous succession of genera; on continental extensions; on distribution during glacial period; on parallelism in time and space
If we are so to regard it, we must distinguish the seeing from what is seen: we must say that, when we see a patch of colour of a certain shape, the patch of colour is one thing and our seeing of it is another.
It is brightly coloured, but not so beautiful as the European species: in its flight, manners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the driest valley, there is also a wide difference.
In some way a feeling got among the coloured people that it was far from proper for them to bear the surname of their former owners, and a great many of them took other surnames.