Gladiatorial Allium
Gladiatorial Allium (#465FF0) is a true blue with a neon character. It sits at the high-saturation edge of its family. Use it sparingly, as signage, accent, or highlight against darker surfaces. Its HSL profile (231°, 85%, 61%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary amber. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.
Etymology
Latin gladiātōrius, of the gladiator — adjectival suffix, derived from gladius (short-sword). As a color modifier, gladiatorial implies a saturated-and-combative-and-bloody quality, the deep-rich color of Roman-Colosseum gladiator-arena bloody-tunic-and-shield combat-attire. Sits at the bold-and-formal end of the grid, parallel to spartan and valiant.
Ornamental onion (Allium christophii, A. giganteum, A. aflatunense) — Central Asian native bulbs cultivated as architectural early-summer perennials with spherical umbels on bare stems. Allium color refers to a fully bloomed A. christophii umbel: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-violet with the matte finish of dense radiating six-tepalled florets. The architectural allium globe drifted into mid-20th-century cottage-garden style via Beth Chatto.
Closest matches
The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.
Variations
Click any swatch to exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.
The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.