hue

Meaning

Noun

• A color, or shade of color; tint; dye.
• The characteristic related to the light frequency that appears in the color, for instance red, yellow, green, cyan, blue or magenta.
• A character; aspect.
• Form; appearance; guise.
• A shout or cry.

Origin

• From Middle English hewe, from Old English hīew ("appearance, form, species, kind; apparition; hue, color; beauty; figure of speech"), from Proto-Germanic *hiwją ("hue, form, shape, appearance; mildew"), from Proto-Indo-European *kew-, *ḱew- or *ḱey-. Cognate with Swedish hy ("complexion, skin"), Norwegian hy ("fluff, mold, skin"), Icelandic hégómi ("vanity"), Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐍅𐌹 ("form, show, appearance"). Compare also Sanskrit छवि ("cuticle, skin, hide; beauty, splendour"); Irish ceo ("fog"), Tocharian B kwele ("black, dark grey"), Lithuanian šývas ("light grey"), Albanian thinjë ("grey"), Sanskrit श्याव ("brown").
• From Old French hu or Old French heu, a hunting cry.