Colour words in Icelandic (Litur)

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svartur [ˈsvar̥tʏr] - black

Etymology: from the Old Norse svartr (black), from the Proto-Germanic *swartaz (black), from Proto-Indo-European *swordo- (dirty, dark, black).

Expressions

• sortna = to darken
• sverta = to make black / dark
• Svartahaf = (the) Black Sea
• svartimarkaður = black market
• svarthol = black hole
• sjá e-ð svatur á hvítu - see sth in black and white
• ég hef séð það svaturara - I have seen worse
• útlitið er svatur - the outlook is bleak
• nú er það svatur! - now things have turned really serious!

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hvítur [ˈkvʊiːjtʊɹ] - white

Etymology: from the Old Norse hvítr (white), from the Proto-Germanic *hwītaz (white), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweytós (bright, white).

Expressions

• hvítna = to turn white, pale
• hvít kál = white cabbage
• hvít vín = white wine
• hvít storkur = white stork (Ciconia ciconia)
• Hvíta-Rússland - Belarus (“White Russia”)
• hveiti mjöl = white floor
• hveiti brauð = white bread

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rauður [ˈrøyːðʏr] - red

Etymology: from the Old Norse rauðr (red), from the Proto-Germanic *raudaz (red), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (red).

Expressions

• fram á rauðura nótt - until late into the night
• fram í rauðuran dauðann - to the limit
• rauðurir hundar - German measles, three-day measles
• hann er rauður - he is a red, he is left wing
• mála bæinn rauðuran - paint the town red

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gulur [ˈkuːlʊɹ] - yellow

Etymology: from the Old Norse gulr (yellow), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (to flourish, green, yellow).

Expressions

• ljósagulur - light yellow, bright yellow, pale yellow
• myrkagulur - dark yellow
• gulgrønur - yellow-green
• gulbrúnur - amber
• brandgulur - orange

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blár [plauːr] - blue

Etymology: from the Old Norse blár (blue), from the Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (blue). from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-. (blue, dark blue, grey, black).

Shades and expressions

• dökkblár - dark blue
• leggja blátt bann við - ban completely
• vera blátt áfram - be unaffected, natural
• þetta er blátt áfram heimskulegt - this is sheer folly

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grænn [kraitn] - green

Etymology: from the Old Norse grœnn (green, fresh), from the Proto-Germanic *grōniz (green). from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (to grow, become green).

Expressions

• ljósgrænn - light green
• græneygður - green-eyed
• hann er ekki svo grænn - he isn't all that dumb

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brúnn [prutn] - brown

Etymology: from the Old Norse brúnn (brown, bright [metal]), from the Proto-Germanic *brūnaz (grey, brown). from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (grey, brown).

Expressions

• brúnligur - brownish
• dimmbrúnur / myrkabrúnur - dark brown
• ljósabrúnur - light brown, tan
• brúnsvartur - brownish black

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bleikur - pink, pale (archaic)

Etymology: from the Old Norse bleikr, from the Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (pale, white). from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (to shine).

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appelsínugulur - orange, orange-coloured

From appelsína (orange [fruit]), and gulur (yellow). Aappelsína comes from the Danish appelsin (orange), possibly from the Dutch appelsien (orange, lit. "Chinese apple").

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grár [krauːr] - grey

Etymology: from the Old Norse grár (grey), from the Proto-Germanic *grēwaz (grey). from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁- (to grow, become green).

Expressions

• grár hestur - white horse
• gráhegri - grey heron
• leika e-n grártt - to deal harshly with sb
• bæta gráru ofan á svart - add insult to injury
• elda grátt silfur - to be at loggerheads, to be at sixes and sevens (“to cook grey silver”)

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fjólublár [ˈfjouːlʏˌplauːr] - purple, violet
purpurarauður - purple

Etymologies: fjólublár comes from fjóla (violet) and blár (blue). Purpurarauður comes from purpura and rauður (red). Purpura comes from the Latin purpura (purple-fish*, (colour) purple), from the Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra - purple-fish), of Semitic origin.

*A purple-fish is a species of sea snail or Bolinus brandaris, commonly known as the purple dye murex or the spiny dye-murex, and the source of the ancient Tyrian purple dye [more information].

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silfurlitaður [ˈsɪlvʏrˌlɪːtaðʏr] - silver

Etymology: from silfur (silver) and‎ litaður (coloured).

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