Fortified Moot Ruby

Latin fortificāre, to make strong — past-participle of fortify. As a color modifier, fortified implies a saturated-and-strengthened-and-defensive quality, the deep-rich color of Vauban-style military-fortification stone-and-earth rampart-and-bastion architecture. Sits at the bold-and-fortified end of the grid, parallel to bastioned and armored.

Old English mōt, meeting-or-debate-point. As a color modifier, moot implies a debated-and-suspended-and-undecided quality, the visual register of Anglo-Saxon-witenagemot-and-Inns-of-Court-moot hand-argued-and-suspended Anglo-Saxon-witenagemot-and-medieval-moot-court witenagemot-and-Inns-of-Court-and-shire-court mooted-and-debated surfaces under Anglo-Saxon-witenagemot-and-Inns-of-Court oak-bench-and-vellum debate-hall-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to void and blank in usage.

From the Latin ruber — simply, red. The gemstone is a chromium-tinged corundum, harder than anything in nature except diamond, and so saturated that a fine Burmese pigeon's blood ruby at auction outpaces a comparable diamond by weight. The color borrows the gem's confidence: a clear, glassy red without the brown of garnet or the blue of crimson.