Rich Prowl 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.

Middle English prollen, to-roam-and-search. As a color modifier, prowl implies a stalking-and-hunting-and-watchful quality, the visual register of panther-and-tiger-prowl hand-stalking-and-hunting-and-watchful panther-and-tiger-and-leopard prowled-and-stalking-and-hunting-and-watchful surfaces under panther-and-tiger-and-leopard jungle-and-savanna-and-night-forest big-cat-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to stalk and lurk 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.