Hardy Moot Crimson

Old French hardi, bold / brave — past-participle of hardir (to make brave). As a color modifier, hardy implies a saturated-and-cold-resistant quality, the deep-rich color of Scandinavian-and-Russian boreal-forest-and-tundra outdoor-clothing. Sits at the bold-and-resilient end of the grid, parallel to tough and resilient.

Old English mōt, meeting-or-debate-point. As a color modifier, moot implies a debated-and-suspended-and-undecided quality, the visual register of Anglo-Saxon-witenagemot-and-Inns-of-Court-moot hand-argued-and-suspended Anglo-Saxon-witenagemot-and-medieval-moot-court witenagemot-and-Inns-of-Court-and-shire-court mooted-and-debated surfaces under Anglo-Saxon-witenagemot-and-Inns-of-Court oak-bench-and-vellum debate-hall-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to void and blank 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.