Devout Horus Crimson

From the Latin devotus, consecrated — used principally in religious contexts for the dignified deep colors of sacred art and ecclesiastical dress. As a color modifier, devout implies saturation combined with restraint: the deep blues of Marian mantles, the deep reds of cardinals' robes. Sits in the bold-and-formal corner alongside imperial.

Egyptian Heru, falcon-headed-sky-god. As a color modifier, horus implies a falcon-headed-and-Eye-of-Horus quality, the visual register of Egyptian-Horus-and-Edfu-temple hand-falcon-headed-and-Eye-of-Horus Egyptian-Horus-and-Edfu-temple-and-falcon-pharaoh horus-and-falcon-headed-and-Eye-of-Horus surfaces under Egyptian-Horus-and-Edfu-temple-and-falcon-pharaoh Edfu-Aswan-temple-and-falcon-throne falcon-eye-light. Sits at the modifier-and-myth end of the grid, parallel to isis and thoth 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.