Hot Monk Goldenrod

Old English hāt, of high temperature — applied metaphorically to color since the eighteenth century for warm hues at high saturation. Hot pink, hot red: the implication is luminous intensity combined with thermal warmth. Sits in the bright-and-warm corner of the grid, alongside burning and vivid.

Latin monachus, solitary-religious-man. As a color modifier, monk implies a Cistercian-and-Benedictine-monastic quality, the visual register of Cistercian-and-Benedictine-Monk hand-spun robe-and-cowl-and-scapular Cistercian-and-Benedictine-and-Trappist-monastic surfaces under Cistercian-and-Benedictine-Trappist-monastic hand-spun-robe candlelit-cloister light. Sits at the modifier-and-cultural end of the grid, parallel to friar and nun 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.