azure

views updated May 29 2018

az·ure / ˈazhər/ • adj. bright blue in color, like a cloudless sky. ∎ Heraldry blue. • n. 1. a bright blue color. ∎ poetic/lit. the clear sky. 2. a small butterfly (Celastrina and other genera, family Lycaenidae) typically blue or purplish, with color differences between the sexes.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

azure

views updated May 11 2018

azure †lapis lazuli; bright or clear blue (colour). XIV. ME. asur(e) — OF. asur, (also mod.) azur — medL. azur(i)um — Arab. al-lāzaward, i.e. AL-2, Pers. lāzhward, lājward LAPIS LAZULI, blue.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

azure

views updated May 21 2018

azure the heraldic term for blue. Recorded from Middle English (denoting a blue dye) the word comes via Old French and medieval Latin from Arabic al ‘the’ + lāzaward (from Persian lāžward ‘lapis lazuli’).

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES