From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Puce |
| — Color coordinates — |
| Hex triplet |
#CC8899 |
| RGBB |
(r, g, b) |
(204, 136, 153) |
| CMYKH |
(c, m, y, k) |
(0, 33, 25, 20) |
| HSV |
(h, s, v) |
(345°, 33%, 80%) |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
Puce (noun, adj.) is generally considered to be dark red to brownish-purple. A few sources define "puce" simply as "dark brown" (Webster's Dictionary, 1828, et. al.). Occasionally referred to as pinkish-purple.
example sentences: n. "Puce was fashionably popular in 1805, though some later derided it as unflattering."; adj. "The tiny porcelain figure bore a rare puce 'Royal Worcester' mark."
English usage dates from 1787. [from the French puce, literally "flea," (in couleur puce "flea-colored"), from L. pucilem, acc. of pulex "flea"] It is speculated that it refers to the colour of a squashed flea or the colour of a flea full of blood. Another theory is that the color name comes from the flea's droppings of digested blood, which spread out in deep red stain when water contacts them.
The color puce is usually defined with adjectives such as "dark", "deep", "intense" and even "brilliant". The color example above is a lighter tint.
The mystery behind this colour involves its use in English as a sort of nonsensical-sounding colour name, much like chartreuse, a yellowish-green colour.
The only political party in the world known to use puce as their official colour is the Christian Heritage Party of Canada.
