Lit Clan Goldenrod

The past participle of light — short and modern. Used as a color word since the late twentieth century for hues that read as if they were illuminated. Lit yellow, lit pink: the implication is luminance combined with the slight optical impression of an internal light source. Sits in the bright-bucket extreme alongside electric.

Scottish-Gaelic clann, children / family. As a color modifier, clan implies a Highland-Scottish-kinship quality, the visual register of Scottish-Highland-Clan Highland-and-Lowland hand-woven tartan-and-kilt-and-broadsword clan-and-kinship surfaces under Highland-Scottish-clan tartan-and-kilt-and-pipe-band Highland-pasture light. Sits at the modifier-and-cultural end of the grid, parallel to tribe and kin 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.