Encyclopedia
Green is a
color with many different shades, all within a
wavelength of roughly 520–570
nm. Green is considered one of the additive
primary colors. It is the complement of
magenta.
People who are
red-green color blind can often distinguish between the two colors but confuse them with other colors, for example, bright green with
yellow; dark green with brown.
The term "green" does not define an exact color unless it is conjunction with some standard like X11 colors or an absolute color space like
sRGB.
Electric Green
The color displayed at right,
electric green is the brightest possible green that can be reproduced on a computer screen. This color is a close approximation of
spectrum green, one of the three primary colors of
light, along with
red and
blue.
Green takes up a large portion of the
CIE chromaticity diagram because it is in the central area of human color perception.
Apparently it was called web color "Lime" because it is the color of Lime Jell-O.
When approximated in pigments, this color is called
bright green.
Pigment Green
Pigment Green is the color green that is achieved by mixing pigment
cyan and pigment
yellow in equal proportions. This is the color green that is shown in the diagram located at the bottom of the following website offering tintbooks for CMYK printing: .
This color is also called
grass green. Colored pencils of the 1950s colored this color were sometimes called
grass green.
Psychedelic art made people used to brighter colors of green, and pigment colors or colored pencils called "bright green" or "true green" are produced which approximate the electric green shown above.
Shamrock Green
Shamrock Green is the color of green used in the flag of
Ireland, and therefore it is also called
Irish Green. It represents the color of
Shamrocks in what is poetically called the "Emerald Isle".
It is customary in both Ireland and the
United States to wear either this shade of green, or any shade of green that one prefers, on
St. Patrick's Day, March 17, even if one is not of Irish descent.
Some artistically inclined people disconnect the celebration from the
Irish altogether and simply view the holiday as a celebration of the color green. These people, besides wearing green on that day, may also stage
dinner parties featuring all green foods. An example of such a menu would be
chicken with
rice and
lima beans with sliced green
Maraschino cherrys in
coconut sauce colored with green food coloring, a green
salad including greens,
avocados and sliced green
apples, split pea
soup, green tinted
bread spiced with sage, Lime Jell-O, iced limeade and/or a green shaded
Red wine, and lime pudding, keylime pie, or lime
sherbert for dessert.
Islamic Green
Islamic Green is the shade of green used in the
Flag of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Green symbolizes
Islam because the tribe of the
Prophet Muhammed had a green banner and because green represented
paradise to
desert dwelling
bedouin tribes when they gathered at an
oasis.
Office Green
The conservative shade of green shown at right,
office green, was the original color designated as "green" for computer displays in the 1980s.
It was apparently chosen because it is the color of the green colored
pencils used by accountants and the color of green office
file cabinets.
Green in Nature
Green is seen commonly in nature, especially in plants. Many plants are green mainly because of a complex chemical known as
chlorophyll which is involved in
photosynthesis.
Green in Human Culture
- Green symbolizes go in its use in traffic signals, railway signals and ship signals. Fire escape exit signs are green in some countries, but red in others.
- Green is considered the traditional color of Islam, likewise because of its association with nature. Muhammad is reliably quoted in a hadith as saying that "water, greenery, and a beautiful face" were three universally good things. Also, in the Qur'an, sura Al-Insan, followers of Allah in Jannah wear fine green silk .
- In the Middle Ages, green represented evil or demonic beings and sometimes love.
- Green is a traditional color of the sacred science of canon law.
- Green is a symbol of Ireland, which is often referred to as "the Emerald Isle". The color is particularly identified with the republican
...
and
nationalist traditions in modern times. It is used this way on the flag of the Republic of Ireland, in balance with the Protestant orange.
- Green also serves as a symbol of the Esperanto language. The color is particularly associated with the green star, and is seen too on the Esperanto flag.
- Because of its camouflage properties, green is typically used for the field uniforms for many military services. It is also used as the dress uniform for many land forces and marines.
- In heraldry, green is called vert.
- In ancient China, green was the symbol of East and Wood, one of the main five colors.
- In the United States and other areas that use the U.S. Dollar as currency, green symbolizes money becuase U.S dollars are called greenbacks.
- In North American stock markets, green is used to denote a rise in stock prices. In East Asian stock markets, green is used to denote a drop in stock prices.
- In night vision goggles, the color green is used to display the enhanced image because the human eye is able to discern the most shades in that color.
- In auto racing a green flag signals the start or resumption of a race.
- The emotion of envy is traditionally associated with the color green.
- Green is the color of informational and directional signs in the United States and Australia.
- The Green Screen was the common name for a monochrome CRT computer display using a green P1 Phosphor screen.
, better known as
Dante Alighieri or simply
Dante, was an Italian [i] ...
Divine Comedy , written by Dante Alighieri [i] between 1308 [i] and his death in 1321 [i], is wi ...
, green is the color used to symbolize hope.
...
, whereas
jungle green is the color of the
United States Army Special Forces or "Green Berets".
- A Bloods set,The Lime St Piru,use green to identify their members
- In the Star Trek universe, the copper-based blood of Vulcans is colored green.
- Clay is said to be in a green state when it has dried beyond a plastic state but is not yet dried. Thrown pots may be turned in a green state, burnishing is usually carried out on green clay.
- In High Schools in the United States in the 1960s, it was widely believed that if you wore green on Thursdays, it meant that you were gay.
- In New Age philosophy
...
, the color green is used to symbolically represent the fourth
chakra.
Green substances
Food colorings used for green include
chlorophyll ,
quinoline and, in countries where it is permitted, "Green S" .
Colloquial expressions
- Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, is also called the green-eyed monster . A person suffering therefrom is said to be "green with envy". Substances that may impart a greenish hue to one's skin include biliverdin, the green pigment in bile, and ceruloplasmin, a protein that carries copper ions in chelation.
- Traditionally, someone who works well with plants is said to have green fingers, or a "green thumb".
- An inexperienced person is sometimes known as green, probably by analogy to unripe fruit. The word greenhorn also refers to an inexperienced person.
- Aliens are sometimes referred to as "little green men".
- People who are feeling ill are sometimes referred to as "green around the gills".
- "Green" is a slang term for marijuana, due to the color of the plant material.
- "Being Green" can either mean someone who is new or someone who is overwhelmed and prone to desertion.
- A "bowl of green" is a green chile stew popular in New Mexico.
Web color
The color originally designated as
green used in
HTML and
CSS is shown here.
"Green" as a political ideology
The environmental lobby or
ecology movement uses green because of its common occurrence in nature.
Greenpeace, an
ecological group, uses green because of its association with life and verdancy. Europeans who carry this into the political realm are called
Greens:
There are
political parties known as "Green Parties" in over one hundred countries throughout the world . The more generic term "green party" is used for parties that emphasize environmentalism, but it is increasingly out of favour as the Global Greens have succeeded in uniting almost all such parties under a Global Green Charter. In the UK the ecology party became the Green Party.
A "Green Party" also existed in the
Byzantine Empire for a while, but of course it had nothing to do with modern Greens. Rather, it developed out of a kind of
chariot racing fanclub whose drivers used the color green to distinguish themselves from the opposing "Blue Party".
The
flag of Libya is plain green , the only current national flag of a single color. The flag of
Hamas is also green, symbolising their Islamist ideological path.
Green as a symbol
Green is the color symbolizing earth, nature, and in a broader sense, life. It is also the color of the back of
U.S. currency , and thus carries a connotation of money, wealth, and capitalism. This is especially true in the U.S., but the symbol of the dollar worldwide makes it a wider symbol.
Green is considered the traditional color of
Islam, likewise because of its association with nature.
Muhammad is reliably quoted in a
hadith as saying that "water, greenery, and a beautiful face" were three universally good things. Also, in the
Qur'an, sura Al-Insan, followers of
Allah in
Jannah wear fine green silk .
In North American
stock markets, green is used to denote a rise in stock prices. In East Asian
stock markets, however, green is used to denote a drop in stock prices.
In stories involving
King Arthur and his
Knights, the color green signifies mystical or magical properties. An excellent example is in the tale
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th century [i] alliterative [i] romance [i] ...
. The Green Knight accepted a blow to the neck with an axe - only to have his body pick up his head and ride away. Later, Sir Gawain received a green sash, a gift that protected the wearer from death.
Green pigments
Trivia
Many drummers' symbol is green, and sometimes have their hair dyed green.
See also
- Distinguishing "blue" from "green" in language
- List of colors
- Greenskins
External links
