Acidic Plinth Jade

Latin acidus, sour — adjectival suffix -ic, sharing root with acetic and acerbic. As a color modifier, acidic implies a saturated-and-citric-and-sour quality, the bright color of lime-zest-and-pickled-lime citrus-fruit pulp surface. Sits at the bright-and-cool end of the grid, parallel to acid and electric in usage.

Greek plinthos, brick / base. As a color modifier, plinth implies a column-base-and-pedestal quality, the visual register of Greek-and-Roman-Plinth hand-cut column-base-and-statue-pedestal Doric-and-Ionic-and-Corinthian classical-plinth architectural surfaces under classical-plinth column-base light. Sits at the modifier-and-architecture end of the grid, parallel to pillar and column in usage.

Two minerals share the name: nephrite (a calcium-magnesium silicate, dominant in Chinese jade) and jadeite (a sodium-aluminum silicate, dominant in Burmese imperial jade). Both have been carved in China since at least the Neolithic. The color refers to high-quality apple-green jadeite: a saturated, slightly muted yellow-green with the waxy translucency of polished stone. Cooler than apple, warmer than mint, with the millennial cultural weight of yu, the stone of heaven.