celadon

/ˈsɛləˌdɑn/

Other forms: celadons

Celadon is a soft, grayish green color. It's also the name of a kind of pottery that has a celadon-colored glaze.

The word celadon was coined to describe the pale jade glaze, which is often deliberately scattered with fine cracks. It comes from a character in a 17th-century French romantic novel, a shepherd and sentimental hero named Céladon who is described as wearing green clothing. Celadon pottery is still popular today, and so is the color; you can find clothing, wall paint, and nail polish in celadon.

Definitions of celadon

1. noun

   a pale grayish-green color
2. noun

   a pale grayish-green glaze used on Chinese ceramics
3. noun

   pottery made with a pale grayish-green glaze
4. adjective

   having a pale graying-green color