Cavalier Nap Crimson

Italian cavaliere, horseman / knight via Latin caballārius. As a color modifier, cavalier implies a saturated-and-chivalrous-and-aristocratic quality, the deep-rich color of English-Civil-War royalist Cavalier military-faction velvet-and-lace-and-feathered-hat livery. Sits at the bold-and-chivalrous end of the grid, parallel to gallant and knightly.

Old English hnoppa, short-fluff-on-cloth. As a color modifier, nap implies a short-fluff-on-cloth-surface quality, the visual register of brushed-flannel-and-velveteen-nap hand-brushed-and-raised short-fluff-on-cloth-surface flannel-and-velveteen-and-felt-nap surfaces under brushed-flannel-and-velveteen-nap textile-light. Sits at the modifier-and-texture end of the grid, parallel to pile and fluff in usage.

From the Old Spanish cremesin, itself from the Arabic qirmiz — the kermes scale insect, dried and ground into a brilliant carmine dye prized in the medieval Mediterranean. For centuries the most expensive red on a draper's shelf, reserved for cardinals, kings, and the cloth that gave English the word crimson. Cooler than scarlet, deeper than rose; the color of pomegranate seeds and a serious occasion.