Genuine Deck Lagoon

Latin genuinus, natural, innate — used as a color modifier since the sixteenth century for hues that read as authentic rather than imitated. Genuine indigo, genuine ochre: moderate-to-high saturation combined with the optical impression of a hue from real pigment rather than synthetic dye. Sits at the crisp-bucket alongside true and honest.

Dutch dek, covering. As a color modifier, deck implies a horizontal-floor-platform-of-ship quality, the visual register of Royal-Navy-and-Tall-Ship-Deck hand-laid horizontal-floor-platform-of-ship deck-and-deck-plank-and-caulking maritime-architecture surfaces under tall-ship-deck-and-quarter-deck maritime-overhead light. Sits at the modifier-and-nautical end of the grid, parallel to hull and bow 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.