Alight Coiled Goldenrod

Old English ā-lihtan, to set alight — past-participle of alight. As a color modifier, alight implies a saturated-and-currently-illuminated quality, the bright color of Christmas-tree and Diwali-lamp festival-decoration illuminated-and-twinkling emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to aflame and aglow in usage.

Old French coillir, to-collect. As a color modifier, coiled implies a wound-and-spiral quality, the visual register of hand-coiled-rope-and-clay hand-coiled-and-wound rope-and-clay-and-pottery hand-coiled-and-wound coil-and-spiral-and-pottery surfaces under hand-coiled-and-wound pottery-and-rope workshop-light. Sits at the modifier-and-texture end of the grid, parallel to twined and looped in usage.

Solidago, the late-summer wildflower of North American meadows whose tall sprays of small yellow flowers signal the end of the growing season. The color refers to the flower head at full bloom: a warm, slightly muted yellow-orange with the matte finish of small clustered florets. Cooler than mustard, deeper than dandelion. The state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska, a pollinator magnet, and the original native dye for early American homespun.