Princely Dill Ruby

Latin prīnceps, first / chief — adjectival suffix -ly. As a color modifier, princely implies a saturated-and-royal-secondary quality, the deep-rich color of European crown-prince coronet-and-livery vestment. Sits at the bold-and-aristocratic end of the grid, parallel to lordly and regal in usage.

Old English dile, aromatic-fern-leaf-herb. As a color modifier, dill implies a feathery-and-fresh-and-pickling quality, the visual register of Scandinavian-and-pickling-dill hand-feathery-and-fresh-and-pickling Scandinavian-and-pickling-dill-and-Polish-Eastern-European dill-and-feathery-and-fresh-and-pickling surfaces under Scandinavian-and-pickling-dill-and-Polish-Eastern-European Stockholm-and-Gdansk-and-Riga-pickling-jar Baltic-pickling-light. Sits at the modifier-and-flavor end of the grid, parallel to chive and anise 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.