Smoldering Cord Violet

The progressive participle of smolder, to burn slowly without flame. Used as a color word since the late nineteenth century for the deep reds and oranges of barely-flame coal — the warm saturated darks where the heat is internal rather than emitted. Sits in the bold-and-warm corner, slightly less luminous than burning and slightly less calm than rich.

Old French corde, string / rope. As a color modifier, cord implies a twisted-string-and-rope quality, the visual register of hand-twisted-and-corded twine-and-rope-and-cord hand-twisted-and-laid-rope hand-tied-cord-and-rope surfaces under hand-twisted-and-corded rope-and-cord working light. Sits at the modifier-and-texture end of the grid, parallel to twine and knot in usage.

Viola odorata, the European sweet violet — small, fragrant, and the original meaning of the color name in English (the Violet of the rainbow). The color refers to a fresh sweet violet blossom in late winter: a saturated, slightly red-shifted deep blue-purple with the matte finish of small five-petaled flower. Cooler than amethyst, warmer than indigo, with the perfumed weight of a flower used in Roman garlands and Victorian eau de toilette.