Sumptuous Sill Rose

Latin sūmptuōsus, expensive — derived from sūmptus (expense). As a color modifier, sumptuous implies a saturated-and-rich-and-luxurious quality, the deep-rich color of Burgundy-and-Champagne-Court late-medieval silk-and-velvet livery in the Très-Riches-Heures manuscript tradition. Sits at the bold-and-saturated end of the grid, parallel to opulent and lavish.

Old English syll, threshold-beam. As a color modifier, sill implies a horizontal-bottom-of-window-or-door quality, the visual register of English-cottage-and-farmhouse hand-cut horizontal-window-and-door bottom-edge sill-and-threshold architectural surfaces under English-cottage-and-farmhouse sill-edge light. Sits at the modifier-and-architecture end of the grid, parallel to lintel and truss in usage.

The Latin rosa, the Greek rhodon, the Persian gul — every European language has a different name for the same flower and the same color. Rose covers the spectrum from blush to fuchsia depending on the cultivar, but in pigment shorthand it means a cool, slightly bluish red — the inside of a damask petal, the dye that washes out of madder root.