Isabelline (colour)
| Isabelline | ||
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| Hex triplet | #F4F0EC | |
| RGBB | (r, g, b) | (244, 240, 236) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (30°, 3%, 96%) |
| Source | [1] | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Isabelline (
/ɪzəˈbɛlɪn/), sometimes called Isabella, is a colour variously defined as pale grey-yellow, pale fawn, pale cream-brown or parchment. This term is used commonly in Europe to describe equine coat colour; in French (isabelle) and German (Isabella), the colour refers to cremello or palomino horses. In ornithology, the colour is used to describe the plumage of a bird, and lends itself to the names of some bird species. The word has also been used to describe various other animals' coats as well.
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[edit] Usage and origins
The first recorded use of Isabella as the name of a colour in English was in the year 1600,[2] to describe an item in Elizabeth I of England's wardrobe inventory: "one rounde gowne of Isabella-colour satten [...] set with silver spangles".[3] Isabelline as a derivative term was first used in the journal Ibis in 1859 by Henry Baker Tristram[4] to describe the common colour of the upper plumage in the birds of Northern Africa.[5]
A few theories have been proposed for the origin of the colour's name. According to a popular legend, the name comes from Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain; during the Siege of Ostend which started in July 1601, Isabella is claimed to have vowed not to change her underwear until the siege was over, expecting a quick victory for her husband Archduke Albert of Austria. Since the siege lasted over three years, finally ending in September 1604, it is claimed that the discolouration of her underwear in that interval led to the naming of the colour.[1][6] However, this theory was discounted by the Oxford English Dictionary as the word was in use before the siege had begun.[2]
A variation of the legend common in Europe refers to Isabella I of Castile and the eight-month siege of Granada by Ferdinand II of Aragon starting in April 1491. This siege ended in January 1492 and again was said to have resulted in overworn underwear belonging to an Isabella.[7]
Other theories focus on animals close to the colour as the source of the word. In 1904 several writers to the journal Notes and Queries, prompted by a question of etymology, debated that the name could be a corruption of the word zibellino (the pelt of a sable), noting the similarity in colour and the popularity of the accessory when the word first came into use.[8] Etymologist Michael Quinion also suggests the name could be taken from the Arabic word izah, meaning lion, and by extension making the original meaning close to "lion-coloured".[7]
[edit] In animals
The term is found in reference to plumage colouring in the bird species names Isabelline Waterhen, Isabelline Wheatear, and Isabelline Shrike, as well as in descriptions of birds. The genetic pigmentation disorder isabellinism seen in birds is derived from the colour word and is a form of leucism caused by a uniform reduction in the production and expression of melanin resulting in areas of plumage on the back of the bird, normally black, being strongly faded, or isabelline, in appearance.[9] Isabellinism has been reported in several species of penguin.[10]
Isabelline and Isabella are terms applied to very pale palomino horses whose coat colour is cream, pale gold or almost white. In horses, this colour is created by the action of the cream gene, a type of incomplete dominant dilution gene that produces a horse with a gold coat and dark eyes when heterozygous, and a light cream-coloured horse with blue eyes when homozygous. The term is also sometimes applied to cremellos.
A subspecies of the Himalayan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) was named subspecifically for the colour and is also sometimes known as the Isabelline Bear.[4][11]
[edit] In human culture
An isabella palomino stallion named Thowra and his descendants starred in the series The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Maerz, Aloys John; Paul, Morris Rea (1930). A Dictionary of Color. McGraw-Hill Book Company. pp. 49 Plate 13 Color Sample K7, 197.
- ^ a b "isabella". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 3rd ed. 2001.
- ^ Nichols, John, ed. (1823). The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth. III. London: John Nichols and Son. p. 505.
- ^ a b "isabelline". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 3rd ed. 2001.
- ^ Tristram, H.B. (1859). "On the Ornithology of Northern Africa". Ibis I (4): 430. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1859.tb06223.x.
- ^ D'Israeli, Isaac (1823). Curiosities of Literature. II (7th ed.). London: John Murray. p. 94-95.
- ^ a b Quinion, Michael (November 1, 2003). "Isabelline". World Wide Words. http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-isa1.htm. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- ^ Hooker, Jos. D. (June 18, 1904). "Isabelline as a Colour". Notes and Queries s10-I (25): 487. doi:10.1093/nq/s10-I.25.487-d. http://books.google.com/books?id=dw_2hXcxab8C&pg=PA487.
"Isabelline as a Colour". Notes and Queries s10-II (39): 253. September 24, 1904. doi:10.1093/nq/s10-II.39.253-b. http://books.google.com/books?id=E4G2-c5tUIkC&pg=PA253. - ^ Everitt, David (2005). "Eccentricities in plumage may be more common than we think". Wingspan 15: 24-25.
- ^ Everitt, David A.; Miskelly, Colin M. (2003). "A review of isabellinism in penguins". Notornis 50 (1): 43–51. http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/review-isabellinism-penguins.
- ^ Galbreath, Gary J.; Groves, Colin P.; Waits, Lisette P. (2007). "Genetic resolution of composition and phylogenetic placement of the Isabelline Bear". Ursus 18 (1): 129-131. doi:10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[129:GROCAP]2.0.CO;2. http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_18/U18_1_Gabreath_et_al.pdf.
[edit] See also
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Look up Isabelline in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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| Anti-flash white | Antique white | Beige | Blond | Cornsilk | Cosmic latte | Cream | Eggshell | Floral white | Ghost white |
| Honeydew | Isabelline | Ivory | Lavender blush | Lemon chiffon | Linen | Magnolia | Mint cream | Munsell | Navajo white |
| Old lace | Papaya whip | Pearl | Seashell | Snow | Splashed white | Vanilla | White | White smoke | |
| The samples shown above are only indicative. | |||||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey | Ash grey | Battleship grey | Black | Cadet grey | Charcoal | Cool grey | Davy's grey | Payne's grey | Silver |
| Slate grey | Taupe | Purple taupe | Medium taupe | Rose quartz | Taupe grey | Timberwolf | White | ||
| The samples shown above are only indicative. | |||||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amber | Apricot | Beige | Buff | Cream | Dark goldenrod | Ecru | Gold | Gold (metallic) | Goldenrod |
| Green-yellow | Jasmine | Jonquil | Khaki | Lemon chiffon | Lime | Lion | Maize | Mikado yellow | Naples yellow |
| Navajo white | Olive | Papaya whip | Saffron | School bus yellow | Selective yellow | Stil de grain yellow | Sunglow | Vanilla | Yellow |
| The samples shown above are only indicative. | |||||||||
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| Auburn | Beaver | Beige | Bistre | Bole | Bronze | Brown | Buff | Burgundy | Burnt sienna |
| Burnt umber | Camel | Chamoisee | Chestnut | Chocolate | Citrine | Coffee | Copper | Cordovan | Desert sand |
| Earth yellow | Ecru | Fallow | Fawn | Field drab | Fulvous | Isabelline | Khaki | Lion | Liver |
| Mahogany | Maroon | Ochre | Raw umber | Redwood | Rufous | Russet | Rust | Sand | Sandy brown |
| Seal brown | Sepia | Sienna | Sinopia | Tan | Taupe | Tawny | Umber | Wenge | Wheat |
| The samples shown above are only indicative. | |||||||||
