Utilitarian Sheen Teal

Latin ūtilitās, usefulness — adjectival suffix -ian. As a color modifier, utilitarian implies a clear-and-purpose-fit-and-stripped-down quality, the crisp color of Shaker-and-Quaker anti-ornamental functional-and-no-frills craft tradition. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to functional and workmanlike in usage.

Old English scēne, bright / fair. As a color modifier, sheen implies a soft-and-luminous-glow quality, the visual register of silk-and-pearl-and-satin-sheen soft-and-luminous-glow silk-and-pearl-and-satin sheen-and-luminous-glow surfaces under soft-and-luminous-silk-and-pearl-sheen filtered light. Sits at the modifier-and-texture end of the grid, parallel to gloss and shine in usage.

Anas crecca, the small dabbling duck whose male in breeding plumage sports a chestnut head crossed by a glossy green-blue stripe. The color refers to that stripe — the iridescent panel just behind the eye: a saturated, slightly muted blue-green with the optical depth of structural color rather than pigment. Cooler than cypress, warmer than cerulean, with the ornithological specificity of a color named for one feather of one bird.