Puce is a dark red or purple brown color, a brownish purple or a "dark reddish brown."
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Etymology
Puce is the French word for flea. The color is said to be the color of bloodstains on linen or bedsheets, even after being laundered--or from a flea's droppings, or after a flea has been crushed.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates the first English use of "puce" as a color to 1778. The name comes from the French word puce, or flea, which comes from the Latin words for flea, pulicem or pulex. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the first French use of puce as a color name, meaning flea-color, dates to the 17th century. A different source dates the first French use of puce as a color name to the 14th century.
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Puce green
Puce green dates back to at least 1810, when green tea was described as "puce green" in color. This phrase is still found today in the UK and the US, where it means a "pea soup" color. Hypotheses that this usage comes from misappropriation or derivation from "puke green" or "pus green" are purely speculative.
History
The color puce became popular in the late 18th century in France. It appeared in clothing at the Court of Louis XVI, and was said to be a favorite color of Marie Antoinette, though there are no portraits of her wearing it.
Puce was also a popular fashion color in 19th century Paris. In one of his novels, Émile Zola described a woman "dressed in a gown of a dark color...between puce and the color of goose poop (caca d'oie)." Victor Hugo, in Les Misérables wrote, "[...] Mademoiselle Baptistine gentle, slender, frail, somewhat taller than her brother, dressed in a gown of puce-colored silk, of the fashion of 1806, which she had purchased at that date in Paris, and which had lasted ever since."
Variations of puce
Puce (ISCC-NBS)
The color to the right is the color called puce in the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955). Since this color has a hue code of 353, it is a slightly purplish red.
The source of this color is: ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955)--Color Sample of Puce (color sample #16)
Puce (Maerz and Paul)
The color box to the right shows the color called puce in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the color puce is displayed on page 37, Plate 7, Color Sample H4.
Puce (Pourpre color list)
At right is the color called puce in the Pourpre.com color list, a color list widely popular in France. This is the original puce, from which all other tones of puce ultimately derive.
Puce (Pantone)
The color at right is called puce in the Pantone color list.
The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #19-1518 TPX--Puce.
In popular culture
- In the vintage-bottle-collecting hobby, "puce" is amongst the most desirable colors.
- In the Dilbert comic strip, the boss's favorite color is puce, but he does not know that because he is mistakenly thinking of a primary color, as he does not know what puce is. In one strip, the employees' status reports are in the form of puce, mauve, cerulean, or ecru, which irks the boss as the reports have to be in the form of red, green, or yellow.
- In the made-for-TV movie Dance 'til Dawn (1988), the prom theme is "Paris in Puce." The theme is chosen by Christina Applegate's character, who also wears a puce gown, so that she can be "the only girl here who goes with the room."
- In the comedy horror film Fright Night (2011), Anton Yelchin's character wears collector's shoes referred to as being puce-colored, with Colin Farrell's character proclaiming, "It takes a real man to wear puce."
- French Queen Marie Antoinette's (1755-1793) favorite color was puce.
- In the King Arthur legends, Sir Gareth fights Sir Perymones, who is a knight called The Puce Knight.
- In Ulysses, Buck Mulligan wants "puce gloves" to go with his "green boots."
- In Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), a toy company develops a new candy (infused with magic so people fly when they eat it); because it is inherently colorless, and they need to pick a dye, one of the accountants suggests they go with puce. When asked what "puce" is, he says "it's like fuchsia, but with a shade less lavender and a bit more pink".
- In Desk Set (1957), Spencer Tracy's character answers one of the phones in the reference department and takes a message regarding the reduced price of a black velvet, strapless dress and asks, "With what kind of a scarf? Puce? I know how to spell it ... P-U-C-E.."
- In the novel Summer of the Swans, the main character dyes her shoes and they accidentally turn puce.
- In the movie Monsters, Inc., Mike Wazowsky orders Sully to collect paper work from his desk. One of the colors of the paperwork is puce.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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