azure

/ˈæʒər/

/ˈæzjʊə/

Other forms: azured; azures

Looking for a fancier way to describe the deep blue sky on a crisp fall day or the jewel-toned waters of the Caribbean? Try azure.

Some people might describe the color azure as sapphire in hue, but in fact there's another gem responsible for this word. At its root, azure comes to us from a French mistranslation of the Arabic word (al)-lazaward, which means “lapis lazuli” — the dazzling deep blue stone that's very common in Afghanistan. The Arabic word actually refers to an area of Turkestan where Marco Polo collected lapis lazuli for friends back home.

Definitions of azure

1. adjective

   bright blue in color, like a clear sky
   synonyms: bright blue, cerulean, sky blue, sky-blue

   chromatic

   being, having, or characterized by hue
2. noun

   a light shade of blue
   synonyms: cerulean, lazuline, sapphire, sky blue, sky-blue

   type of:

   blue, blueness

   blue color or pigment; resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime
3. verb

   color a light shade of blue
   “Morning azured the village”

   type of:

   color, color in, colorise, colorize, colour, colour in, colourise, colourize

   add color to