Rich Freya Crimson

Old French riche, wealthy, abundant — applied to color since the medieval period for hues that read as plentiful in pigment. Rich red, rich brown: the implication is depth combined with saturation, a color that gives the eye more to absorb. Sits at the saturated mid-light corner of the engine's grid, slightly warmer than bold and deeper than vivid.

Old Norse Freyja, goddess-of-love-and-Vanir. As a color modifier, freya implies a Vanir-goddess-and-feathered-cloak-and-Brísingamen quality, the visual register of Norse-Freya-and-Vanir-goddess hand-Vanir-goddess-and-feathered-cloak-and-Brísingamen Norse-Freya-and-Vanir-goddess-and-Brísingamen-amber-necklace freya-and-Vanir-goddess-and-feathered-cloak surfaces under Norse-Freya-and-Vanir-goddess-and-Brísingamen-amber-necklace Folkvang-and-Sessrúmnir-and-cat-drawn-chariot amber-necklace-light. Sits at the modifier-and-myth end of the grid, parallel to odin and vala 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.