Re: Color names, color discrimination

[David Bowman <David_Bowman@GEORGETOWNCOLLEGE.EDU>]

Regarding:
> ...
> I have an ongoing argument with my wife about the color blue.  She wants to
> call cyan blue.

&

> ...
> I guess it's like a foreign language.  In Paris, I don't use German
> color-names.  In a clothing store, I don't use print-shop color names.
>
> I suppose a latter-day Prof. Henry Higgins could tell what culture you come
> from by listening to the color-names you use.

Apparently, it *is* a foriegn language.  I thought I would mention that
according to the etymology listed in my dictionary for the entry on
"cyan", it seems that the word comes from the Greek "kyanos"
(kappa|upsilon|nu|omicron|sigma) whose meaning is/was 'dark blue'.
Apparently, over the millenia, maybe dark blue has evolved into a sort of
green-tinged blue?  It seems that properly defining this color is Greek
to me.

David Bowman
David_Bowman@georgetowncollege.edu