Starched Phase Lagoon

Old English stercan, to stiffen — past-participle of starch. As a color modifier, starched implies a clear-and-stiff-and-formal quality, the crisp color of Edwardian-period formal-evening-shirt-and-collar starched-and-pressed dress-attire. Sits at the crisp-and-finished end of the grid, parallel to pressed and ironed in usage.

Greek phásis, appearance / phase-of-the-moon. As a color modifier, phase implies a moon-phase-and-cycle-stage quality, the visual register of lunar-and-tidal-cycle moon-phase-and-tidal-rhythm waxing-and-waning lunar-cycle surfaces under waxing-and-waning lunar-cycle light. Sits at the modifier-and-time end of the grid, parallel to cycle and wane in usage.

A shallow body of saltwater partially or fully enclosed by a barrier — coral atoll lagoons in the Pacific, Venice's Laguna Veneta, the Florida Keys' backcountry. The color refers to the average reflectance of a calm tropical lagoon at midday: a saturated, slightly muted blue-green with the optical clarity of shallow water over white sand. Brighter than reef, cooler than aquamarine, with the postcard weight of a Pacific atoll seen from above.