red

See also: Appendix:Variations of "red"

English

Various shades of red

A Celtic woman with red hair.

A Uyghur girl in China who has red hair.

A glass of red wine

A red salmon

Pronunciation

• enPR: rĕd, IPA^(key): /ɹɛd/, [ɻʷɛˑd̥]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• Homophone: read (past tense/participle)
• Rhymes: -ɛd

Etymology 1

From Middle English red, from Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from the root *h₁rewdʰ-.

Cognates

See also West Frisian read, Low German root, rod, Dutch rood, German rot, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål rød, Norwegian Nynorsk raud; also Welsh rhudd, Latin ruber, rufus, Tocharian A rtär, Tocharian B ratre, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós), Albanian pruth (“redhead”), Russian ру́дый (rúdyj) ("red", "redhaired"). Czech rudý, Lithuanian raúdas, Finnish rauta, Estonian raud, Serbo-Croatian riđ ("reddish", "red"), Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬛𐬌𐬙𐬀 (raoidita), Sanskrit रुधिर (rudhirá, “red, bloody”).

Adjective

red (comparative redder or more red, superlative reddest or most red)

1. Of a red hue.

   The girl wore a red skirt.

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

     Your colour, I warrant you, is as red as any rose.

   • 1954 July 29, J.R.R. Tolkien, “I: A Long-Expected Party”, in The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings; 1), →ISBN:

     The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.

2. (of hair) Having an orange-brown or orange-blond colour; ginger.

   Her hair had red highlights.

3. (of the skin) Having a redder hue than usual due to embarrassment, anger, sunburn, etc.; flushed.
   • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 23:

     [T]he sun was shining on a happy crowd. It shone on white hats and red faces. It shone on ice lollies and melted them.

4. (of a dog or its coat) Having a brown color.
5. (card games, of a card) Of the hearts or diamonds suits. Compare black (“of the spades or clubs suits”)

   I got two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.

6. (politics, often capitalized) Supportive of, related to, or dominated by a political party or movement represented by the color red:
   1. Left-wing parties and movements, chiefly socialist or communist, including the U.K. Labour party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
      • "Only Nixon could go to China" was the refrain of conventional wisdom during Richard Nixon’s 1972 official visit to Mao Tse-tung’s regime. Nixon’s anti-communist credentials, however dubious, provided useful camouflage as he opened diplomatic relations with Red China and made breathtaking concessions that an undisguised liberal couldn’t get away with. [1]

      the red-black grand coalition in Germany

   2. (US politics) The U.S. Republican Party. [21st c.]

      a red state

      a red Congress

7. (chiefly derogatory, offensive) Amerind; relating to Amerindians or First Nations
   • 1994, Soundgarden, Spoonman:

     All my friends are Indians / All my friends are brown and red

8. (astronomy) Of the lower-frequency region of the (typically visible) part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
9. (particle physics) Of a red color charge.

Synonyms

• (color): scarlet, crimson, vermilion, ruby-red, cherry-red, cerise, cardinal-red, carmine, wine-red, claret-red, blood-red (sanguine), coral-red, cochineal-red, rose-red (rosy, damask), brick-red, maroon, rust-red (rusty), rufous-red, gules-red, rufescent.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “having red as its colour”): nonred, unred
• (antonym(s) of “having red as its colour charge”): antired

Derived terms

• Adrianople red
• alizarin red
• anti-red
• apple red
• arrest-me-red
• ash-red
• barn red
• beetroot red
• better dead than red
• big red button
• big red switch
• bleed red ink
• blood-red
• blood-red fancy
• blue-red
• brick-red
• cadmium red
• Cambodian red
• Canadian red pine
• cardinal red
• carmine red
• carthamus red
• catch red-handed
• cherry-red
• Christmas Island red crab
• code red
• Cuban red macaw
• cut red tape
• dago red
• dark red, dead-red
• eastern red cedar
• Ezo red fox
• Falun red
• Falu red
• French red
• Great Red Dragon
• grey red-backed vole
• Harlan's red-tailed hawk
• Harrison red
• Himalayan red bear
• indigo red
• infra-red
• Irish red ale
• kino red
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Magdala red, magdala red
• Miss Waldron's red colobus
• Moroccan red, Morocco red
• Mount Graham red squirrel
• Murray red gum
• Nantucket red
• naphthalene red
• Nile red
• northern red-backed vole
• northern red oak
• Old Red Sandstone
• paint the town red
• paranitraniline red
• para red
• Parliamentary red
• picrosirius red
• Prussian red
• put on the red light
• Quebec red trout
• quinova red
• ragged red fibers
• raise red flags
• ratanhia red
• red admirable
• red admiral
• red alder
• red ale
• red alert
• red alga
• red-and-green macaw
• red and silver dewdrop
• red ant
• red antimony
• red ape
• red apple
• Red Army
• red arrow
• red as a beetroot
• red as a lobster
• red ash
• red-assed
• red avadavat
• red-backed fairywren
• red-backed hawk
• red-backed sea eagle
• red-backed shrike
• red-back, redback, red back
• red bag delivery
• red-bait
• red-baiter
• red-baiting
• red ball
• red banana
• red band
• red-banded sand wasp
• red bandfish
• red banner
• red bayberry
• Red Bay (place name)
• red bay (tree)
• red bean
• red beet
• red-bellied black snake
• red-bellied piranha
• red-bellied titi
• red biddy
• red-billed
• red-billed gull
• red-billed leiothrix
• red-billed woodcreeper
• red birch
• red-bird, redbird
• red-black tree
• red-blood
• red blood cell
• red blood cell cast
• red-blooded
• red-bloodedness
• Red Bluff
• red book
• red bourgeoisie
• red box
• red brass
• red-breasted flycatcher
• red-breasted goose
• red-breasted merganser
• red-breasted sapsucker
• red-brick, redbrick
• red brick university
• Red Brigades
• red-brown
• red brush
• redbud
• redbug
• red button
• red cabbage
• red campion
• red cap
• red-capped
• red-capped parrot
• red car
• red cardinal flower
• red card, red-card
• red-carpetful
• red carpet, red-carpet
• Redcastle
• red caviar
• red cedar
• red cell
• red cent
• red chalk
• red chamber
• red chickweed
• Red China
• red chip
• red chokeberry
• red circle rate
• Red Cloud
• red clover
• red clump
• red Clydeside
• red coat, redcoat
• red-cockaded woodpecker
• red codling
• red-collared lorikeet
• red-collared widowbird
• red-cook
• red copper
• red coral
• red corpuscle
• red cotton-tree, red cotton tree
• Red Crescent
• red-crested pochard
• Red Cross
• red crossbill
• red-crowned crane
• red cunt hair
• red currant]], red-currant
• red cypress
• red daikon
• red day
• red dead man's fingers
• red deer
• red delicious
• redden
• red detuning
• red-diaper
• red diaper baby, red-diaper baby
• red diesel
• reddish
• red dog
• red drum
• red dwarf
• red-eared slider
• red-eared terrapin
• red-eared turtle
• red ear syndrome
• red earth
• red egg
• red elm
• red ensign
• red envelope
• Red Eye
• red-eyed
• red-eye gravy
• red eye, red-eye, redeye
• red-faced
• red-faced cormorant
• red face test
• red factor canary
• red-fan parrot
• red fascism
• red fascist
• red fescue
• red fever
• red figure
• red fir
• red fire
• redfish
• red-flaggy
• red flag in front of a bull
• red flag knowledge
• red flag law
• red flag, Red Flag
• red flag to a bull
• red flag warning
• Red Flames
• red-flanked bluetail
• red flour beetle
• red flower
• red-footed falcon
• red-footed tortoise
• red forest
• red fox
• red-fronted tinkerbird
• red fuming nitric acid
• red geyser
• red giant
• red ginger
• red gold
• red goods
• red grape
• red-green alliance
• red-green-brown alliance
• red-green coalition
• red-green, red green
• red grouse
• Red Guard, red guard
• red gum, red-gum
• red gurnard
• red hair
• red hake
• red-handed
• red-handedly
• red-handedness
• red hat
• Red Hawke
• redhead
• red-headed Eskimo
• red-headed honeyeater
• red-headed, redheaded
• red-headed stepchild
• red heat
• red Helen
• red herring
• red herring prospectus
• Red Hill
• red hind
• red hornweed
• red horse, redhorse
• red-hot minute
• red-hot poker
• red-hot, red hot
• red huckleberry
• red-humped caterpillar
• red hydrogen
• red imported fire ant
• red ink
• red-inker
• red in the face
• red in tooth and claw
• red ivory
• red jackal
• red jade
• red judge
• red junglefowl
• red juniper
• red kangaroo
• Red Ken
• red king crab
• red kite
• red knot
• red kuri squash
• Red Lake County
• Red Lake Falls
• red lane
• red lead
• red leaf
• red Leb
• red-legged golden orb-weaver spider
• red-legged grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum)
• red-legged partridge
• red-legged tinamou
• red-leg, red leg
• Red Leicester
• red-letter
• red-letter day, red letter day
• red-letter edition
• red letter law
• red licorice
• red light
• red-light camera, red light camera
• red-light district, red light district
• red line
• Red Liner
• red link
• red-linked
• red lion
• red-lipped batfish
• red liquor
• red liquorice
• Red List
• red lives matter
• Red Lodge
• red lynx
• red-maids, red maids
• red mammee, red mamey
• red man
• red manganese
• red manganese oxide
• red mange
• red man syndrome
• red maple (Acer rubrum)
• red marrow
• red mass
• red mead
• red measles
• red meat
• red meat radish
• red menace
• red mercury
• red mist
• red mite
• red moki
• red mongo
• red monkey
• red mud
• red mulberry
• red mulga
• red mullet
• red-necked buzzard
• red-necked francolin
• red-necked grebe
• red-necked phalarope
• red-necked stint
• red-necked wallaby
• red-necked woodpecker
• red neck syndrome
• red Ned
• red neuralgia
• red-nigger, red nigger
• red nightshade
• red noise
• red-nose tetra
• red notice
• red nucleus
• red nugget
• red nugget galaxy
• red oak
• Red Oak (place name)
• red oak tree
• red ocher, red ochre
• red onion
• red osier
• red osier dogwood
• red owl
• red oxide
• red oxygen
• red packet
• red panda
• red pea
• red-pencil
• red pepper
• red phalarope
• red phosphorus
• red pill
• red pilled
• red piller
• red pine
• red pipe
• red piranha
• red plague
• red planet
• red point, red-point
• Red Poll
• redpoll (Acanthis spp.)
• red poppy
• red porgy
• red precipitate
• red princess flower
• red puccoon (Sanguinaria canadensis)
• red pudding
• red pussy hair
• red rag
• red-ragger
• red rag to a bull
• red rail
• red raspberry
• red rattle
• red rattler
• red-red stew
• red ribbon
• red rice
• red rider
• red-rimmed
• red ring
• red ring disease
• red ring of death
• red ring skirt
• red river hog
• Red Rock
• red rock crab
• red rocket
• red room
• redroot
• Red Roses
• red rot
• red route
• red-rumped swallow
• Red Russian kale
• red salmon
• red sanders
• red sauce
• Red Scar
• red scare
• red scarf
• red sea
• Red Sea
• Red Sea Hills
• red seaperch
• red setter
• red-shafted flicker
• red shank
• redshank
• red-shanked douc
• red shirt, red-shirt
• red-short
• red-shortness
• red-shouldered hawk
• red silky oak
• red silver
• red siskin
• red slaw
• red slender loris
• red snake
• red snapper
• red snow
• red sorrel
• red spider
• red spiral
• red spiral galaxy
• Red Spot
• red-spotted purple
• red sprite
• red spruce
• red squad
• Red Square
• red squill (Drimia maritima)
• red squirrel
• Red Star
• red-start
• red state
• red steenbras
• red strawberry tongue
• red string of fate
• reds under the bed
• red sunflower
• red supergiant
• red swampdragon
• red tag
• red-tagging
• red tail disease
• red-tailed black cockatoo
• red-tailed hawk
• red-tailed phascogale
• red-tailed shrike
• red-tailed squirrel
• red-tailed tropicbird
• red tape
• red-tapeism
• red-tapism
• red-tapist
• red tea
• red teamer
• red-team, red team
• red terror
• red-throat
• red-throated diver
• red-throated loon
• red-throated pipit
• red-throated thrush
• red-throated tit
• red tide
• red tiger
• red time
• red toad trillium
• red-toothed shrew
• red-top, red top, redtop
• red-to-red
• red triangle slug
• red trillium
• red turtle dove
• red under the bed
• red-up, red up
• red valerian
• red-veined darter
• red-veined dock
• red velvet
• red velvet cake, red-velvet cake
• red velvet mite
• red vet pet
• Red Vienna
• red vitriol
• Red Volta
• red wall
• red water
• red wave
• red wedding
• red week
• Red Wharf Bay
• red whortleberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
• red wiggler
• Red Willow County
• Red Willow Creek
• red wine headache
• Red Wing
• red-winged blackbird
• red-winged fairywren
• red-winged tinamou
• redwing, red-wing
• red wings
• red wolf
• red won
• redwood
• red worm (Lumbricina spp.)
• red yeast rice
• red zone, red-zone
• river red gum
• roll out the red carpet
• rose red, rosy-red
• rosy-red minnow
• royal red prawn
• ruby-red, ruby red
• run a red light
• ruthenium red
• scarlet red
• Shasta red fir
• sit dead-red
• Spanish red
• spot-red
• straight red
• straight red card
• take the red eye
• take the red pill
• tile red
• turn a number of shades of red
• turn on red
• unexpected red theory
• violet red bile agar
• we all bleed red
• western red cedar (Thuja plicata)
• wormred
• yellow-red

 

Translations

See red/translations § Adjective.

Noun

red (countable and uncountable, plural reds)

1. (countable and uncountable) The colour of the setting sun; the colour which is evoked by the longest visible wavelengths (between about 625–740 nm), and a primary additive colour.

   red:  

   Red can be seen as hot or angry.

3. (countable) A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.

   Coordinate term: pinko

4. (countable, snooker) One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colours.
5. (countable and uncountable) Red wine.
   • 1977 September, Billy Joel (lyrics and music), “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, in The Stranger:

     A bottle of red, a bottle of white / It all depends upon your appetite / I'll meet you any time you want / in our Italian restaurant.

   • 2005, Jeffrey P. Landry, Temptation Mango:

     He produced a wine key from his jacket pocket and effortlessly removed the cork from the bottle of red.

   • 2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135:

     59 sneak in some red Smuggle a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew into a long matinee. Red wine is rich in life-extending antioxidants, and the caper will add zest even to a bad movie.

6. (countable) Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red colour.

   Hyponyms: Flanders red, Irish red

   • 2012 June 5, Howard Stelzer, Beer Cocktails: 50 Superbly Crafted Cocktails that Liven Up Your Lagers and Ales, Harvard Common Press, →ISBN:

     American reds and doppelbocks are heavy lagers as well. It really comes down to how the beer was made. Beyond that, brewers are immensely creative and have developed styles of both ale and lager that run a wide range of attributes.

   • 2016 April 1, Lonely Planet, Helena Smith, Andy Symington, Donna Wheeler, Lonely Planet Belgium & Luxembourg, Lonely Planet, →ISBN:

     No other country has a brewing tradition as richly diverse as that of Belgium, with beers ranging from pleasant pale lagers to wild, winelike Flemish reds and lambics.

7. (countable, informal, Australia) A red kangaroo.
8. (countable, informal, UK, birdwatching) A redshank.
9. (derogatory, offensive) An American Indian.

   Synonym: redskin

10. (slang) The drug secobarbital; a capsule of this drug.

    Synonyms: redbird, red devil

    • 1970, “Truckin'”, in American Beauty, performed by Grateful Dead:

      What in the world ever became of sweet Jane? / She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same / Livin' on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine

    • 1971, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Harper Perennial, published 2005, page 202:

      The big market, these days, is in Downers. Reds and smack—Seconal and heroin—and a hellbroth of bad domestic grass sprayed with everything from arsenic to horse tranquillizers.

    • 1998, Jeffery Deaver, The Coffin Dancer, New York, NY: Pocket Books, published 2021, →ISBN, page 285:

      “Whatchu got, man?” / “Reds, bennies, dexies, yellow jackets, demmies.” / “Yeah, demmies're good shit, man. I pay you. Fuck. I got money. I'm hurting inside. Got beat up. Where my money?”

11. (informal) A red light (a traffic signal)
    • 1974, Tom Waits (lyrics and music), “(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night”, in The Heart of Saturday Night‎^[2]:

      Stopping on the red, you're going on the green / Cause tonight will be like nothing you've ever seen / And you're barreling down the boulevard / You're looking for the heart of Saturday night

12. (Ireland, UK, beverages, informal) Red lemonade
13. (particle physics) One of the three color charges for quarks.
14. (US, colloquial, uncountable) Chili con carne (usually in the phrase "bowl of red").
    • 1982, The Rotarian, volume 140, number 1, page 39:

      Houston visited a home in an early pioneer settlement where he was offered a bowl of red. Houston eagerly took his first large spoonful. His eyes watering, he spat out his bite […]

15. (informal) The redfish or red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, a fish with reddish fins and scales.
    • 2013 November, Catch Cormier, “Sightcasting for redfish”, in Louisiana Sportsman‎^[3]:

      The species Sciaenops ocellatus certainly isn’t lacking for nicknames. […] Clear water also favors sightcasting. Against the dark background of marsh mud, a red will appear like a pumpkin — big, orange and round.

16. (slang, uncountable) Tomato ketchup.
    • 2016, Jon Bounds, Danny Smith, Pier Review: A Road Trip in Search of the Great British Seaside:

      I squeeze some red out over my chips and feel guilty. Nothing is as English as Heinz ketchup in the sauce game, except perhaps HP.

Derived terms

Terms derived from red (noun)

• antired
• beet red
• blood red
• brick red
• cherry red
• Chinese red
• chrome red
• Congo red
• fire engine red
• flowerpot red
• Indian red
• in the red
• Panama Red
• Paris red
• phenol red
• Pompeian red
• postbox red
• sand red
• see red
• strawberry red
• Turkey red
• Tuscan red
• Venetian red
• wine red
• wormred

 

Translations

colour

• Afrikaans: rooi (af)
• Ainu: フレ (hure)
• Aklanon: puea
• Albanian: kuq (sq)
• Amharic: ቀይ (am) (ḳäy)
• Arabic: حُمْرَة f (ḥumra), أَحْمَر (ar) m (ʔaḥmar)

  Egyptian Arabic: أحمر m (ʔaḥmar)

• Aragonese: royo m
• Armenian: կարմիր (hy) (karmir)
• Assamese: ৰঙা (roṅa), ৰঙা ৰং (roṅa roṅ)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܣܡܘܿܩܵܐ m (smoqa)
• Asturian: bermeyu (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: qırmızı (az)
• Bashkir: ҡыҙыл (qıźıl)
• Basque: gorri
• Belarusian: чырво́ны (be) (čyrvóny)
• Bengali: লাল (bn) (lal)
• Bhojpuri: लाल (lāl)
• Breton: ruz (br)
• Budukh: ал (al)
• Bulgarian: червен (bg) m (červen)
• Burmese: အနီ (my) (a.ni)
• Buryat: улаан (ulaan)
• Catalan: vermell (ca) m, roig (ca) m
• Cebuano: pula or puwa
• Central Huishui Hmong: liab
• Chechen: цӏе (cʼe), цӏен (cʼen)
• Cherokee: ᎩᎦᎨᎢ (gigagei)
• Chichewa: chofiira
• Chickasaw: homa
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 紅色／红色 (hung⁴ sik¹)

  Eastern Min: 红色 (oing saik)

  Hokkien: 紅色／红色 (zh-min-nan) (âng-sek)

  Mandarin: 紅色／红色 (zh) (hóngsè)

• Chukchi: чеԓгыԓьын (čeḷgyḷʹyn)
• Cornish: rudh
• Corsican: rossu (co)
• Czech: červeň (cs) f, červená (cs) f, rudá (cs) f
• Danish: rød (da)
• Dutch: rood (nl)
• Dzongkha: དམརཔོ (dmrpo)
• Esperanto: ruĝo
• Estonian: punane (et)
• Evenki: хулама (hulama)
• Ewe: dzĩ
• Farefare: mõlga
• Finnish: punainen (fi)
• Franco-Provençal: rojo m
• French: rouge (fr) m
• Galician: vermello (gl) m, encarnado (gl) m
• Georgian: წითელი ფერი (c̣iteli peri), წითელი (ka) (c̣iteli)
• German: Rot (de) n
• Greek: κόκκινο (el) n (kókkino), ερυθρό (el) n (erythró), πορφυρό (el) n (porfyró), άλικο (el) n (áliko)
• Greenlandic: aappaluttoq (kl)
• Guaraní: pytã
• Gujarati: લાલ (gu) (lāl)
• Haitian Creole: rouj, wouj
• Hausa: ja
• Hawaiian: ʻulaʻula
• Hebrew: אדום (he) (adom)
• Higaonon: maliga
• Hiligaynon: pula
• Hindi: लाल (hi) (lāl), रुधिर (hi) (rudhir)
• Hungarian: piros (hu), vörös (hu)
• Icelandic: rauður (is)
• Ido: reda (io)
• Igbo: acha ọbara ọbara
• Indonesian: merah (id)
• Ingush: цӏе (cʼe)
• Interlingua: rubio, rubro, rubido (dark)
• Irish: dearg (ga), rua (ga) (dark)
• Italian: rosso (it) m
• Japanese: 赤 (ja) (あか, aka)
• Javanese: abang (jv) (ngoko), abrit (jv) (krama)
• Kalmyk: улаан (ulaan)
• Kannada: ಕೆಂಪು (kn) (kempu)
• Kapampangan: lutu
• Kashubian: czerwiony
• Kazakh: қызыл (kk) (qyzyl)
• Khinalug: ал (al)
• Khmer: ក្រហម (km) (grəhorm)
• Kikuyu: ũtune class 14
• Kongo: mbwaki
• Korean: 빨강 (ko) (ppalgang), 빨간색 (ko) (ppalgansaek)
• Kyrgyz: кызыл (ky) (kızıl)
• Lao: ສີແດງ (lo) (sī dǣng)
• Latgalian: sorkons m, sorkona f
• Latin: color ruber m
• Latvian: sarkans (lv) m
• Ligurian: rósso m
• Lithuanian: raudonas m, raudona f
• Lombard: ross (lmo)
• Louisiana Creole French: rouj
• Luxembourgish: rout (lb)
• Macedonian: црвена (crvena)
• Maguindanao: mariga
• Malagasy: mena (mg)
• Malay: merah (ms)
• Malayalam: ചുവപ്പ് (ml) (cuvappŭ)
• Maltese: aħmar (mt)
• Manchu: ᡶᡠᠯᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ (fulgiyan)
• Manx: jiarg
• Maori: whero (mi)
• Maranao: mariga'
• Marathi: लाल (mr) (lāl)
• Maricopa: hwetam
• Mongolian: улаан (mn) (ulaan) ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨ (ulaɣan)
• Moore: miuugu, miigi, miiri
• Nanai: сэгден (segʒen)
• Navajo: łichíʼí
• Nepali: रातो (ne) (rāto)
• Nga La: sen
• Nheengatu: piranga
• Norwegian: rød (no), raud (no)
• O'odham: wegi
• Occitan: rog (oc) m, roge (oc) m
• Odia: ନାଲି (or) (nāli)
• Old Norse: rauðr
• Pangasinan: ambalanga
• Persian: قرمز (fa) (qermez), سرخ (fa) (sorx), احمر (fa) (ahmar)
• Polish: czerwień (pl) f
• Portuguese: vermelho (pt) m, rubro (pt) m, vermelha (pt) f, rubra (pt) f, encarnado (pt) m, escarlate (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਲਾਲ (pa) (lāl)
• Quechua: puka
• Romanian: roșu (ro)
• Russian: кра́сный (ru) (krásnyj)
• Samoan: lanu mumu
• Sanskrit: रुधिर (sa) (rudhira), लोहित (sa) (lohita)
• Saterland Frisian: rood
• Scots: reid
• Scottish Gaelic: dearg, ruadh (dark red, auburn)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: црвена f

  Roman: crvena (sh) f

• Sherpa: མར་རུ (mar ru)
• Shona: tsvuku
• Sinhalese: රතු (si) (ratu)
• Slovak: červená
• Slovene: rdeča f
• Somali: gaduud
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: cerwjeń f

• Sotho: lesêdi, khubelu (st)
• Spanish: rojo (es)
• Sundanese: beureum (su)
• Swahili: -ekundu
• Swedish: röd (sv), rött (sv)
• Sylheti: ꠟꠣꠟ (lal)
• Tagalog: pula (tl)
• Tajik: surx
• Tamil: சிவப்பு (ta) (civappu)
• Tausug: pula
• Telugu: ఎరుపు (te) (erupu)
• Tetum: mean
• Thai: สีแดง (th) (sǐi-dɛɛng)
• Tibetan: དམར (dmar), དམར་པོ (dmar po)
• Tok Pisin: redpela
• Tupinambá: pirang, pitang
• Turkish: kırmızı (tr), kızıl (tr), al (tr)
• Turkmen: gyzyl
• Tuvan: кызыл (kızıl)
• Ukrainian: червоний (uk) (červonyj)
• Unami: maxke, maxksu
• Uyghur: قىزىل (ug) (qizil)
• Uzbek: qizil (uz)
• Vietnamese: đỏ (vi) (𣠶)
• Walloon: rodje (wa) m
• Welsh: rhudd (cy), coch (cy)
• West Frisian: read (fy)
• Western Bukidnon Manobo: meriɣa'
• Winnebago: šuuc
• Xhosa: bomvu
• Yiddish: רויט (royt)
• Yoruba: pupa
• Yucatec Maya: chak
• Zazaki: sur (diq), rem (diq)
• Zulu: obomvu

socialist, communist

• Bulgarian: червен (bg) (červen)
• Catalan: roig (ca) m, roja (ca) f
• Czech: rudý (cs) m
• Finnish: punainen (fi)
• Georgian: წითელი (ka) (c̣iteli)
• German: Rote f, Roter m
• Greek: κόκκινος (el) (kókkinos)
• Hungarian: vörös (hu)
• Korean: 공산주의자 (ko) (gongsanjuuija), 빨갱이 (ko) (ppalgaeng'i) (disapproving)
• Portuguese: vermelho (pt) m, rubro (pt) m
• Russian: кра́сный (ru) m (krásnyj)
• Spanish: rojo (es) m
• Venetan: roso (vec) m
• Zazaki: surık (diq)

snooker: one of the 15 red balls

• Finnish: punainen (fi)

red wine — see also red wine

• Catalan: vi negre (ca) m
• Cebuano: bino tinto, tinto
• Czech: červené n
• Finnish: punainen (fi)
• Galician: viño tinto (gl) m
• Hungarian: vörösbor (hu)
• Korean: 적포도주 (ko) (jeokpodoju), 레드 와인 (redeu wain)
• Portuguese: vinho tinto (pt)
• Spanish: tinto (es) m
• Uyghur: قىزىل ھاراق (qizil haraq)
• Zazaki: surani

informal: redshank — see also redshank

• Finnish: punajalka

derogatory: Amerind — see also Amerind

• Finnish: punanahka

slang: secobarbital — see also secobarbital

• Finnish: sekobarbitaali

red light — see also red light

• Finnish: punainen (fi) (often in the plural)

red lemonade — see also red lemonade

• Finnish: punainen limsa

particle physics: one of the three color charges for quarks

• Finnish: punainen (fi)

colloquial: chili con carne — see also chili con carne

• Finnish: chili (fi)

fish Sciaenops ocellatus — see also red drum

• Finnish: punarumpukala

See also

• (reds) red; blood red, brick red, burgundy, cardinal, carmine, carnation, cerise, cherry, cherry red, Chinese red, cinnabar, claret, crimson, damask, fire brick, fire engine red, flame, flamingo, fuchsia, garnet, geranium, gules, hot pink, incarnadine, Indian red, magenta, maroon, misty rose, nacarat, oxblood, pillar-box red, pink, Pompeian red, poppy, raspberry, red violet, rose, rouge, ruby, ruddy, salmon, sanguine, scarlet, shocking pink, stammel, strawberry, Turkey red, Venetian red, vermilion, vinaceous, vinous, violet red, wine ^{(Category: en:Reds)}
• primary colour

Colors/Colours in English (layout · text)
red	orange	yellow	green	blue (incl.      indigo;              cyan, teal, turquoise)	purple / violet
pink (including          magenta)	brown		white	gray/grey	black

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “red”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “red”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “red”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Etymology 2

From the archaic verb rede.

Verb

red

1. (archaic) simple past and past participle of rede

Etymology 3

Verb

red (third-person singular simple present reds, present participle redding, simple past and past participle redded)

1. Alternative spelling of redd

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “redd”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “red”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• DRE, Der, Der., EDR, ERD, RDE, der, erd

Bislama

Etymology

From English red.

Adjective

red

1. red

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reːd/, [ʁæðˀ]

Verb

red

1. past of ride

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: red
• Rhymes: -ɛt
• Homophones: redt, Reth

Verb

red

1. inflection of redden:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Anagrams

• der

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁeːt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːt

Verb

red

1. singular imperative of reden

Italian

Noun

red

1. a type of rice

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish rét.

Noun

red m (genitive singular red, plural reddyn)

1. thing, object, item

   Cha daink reddyn dy mie.

   Things didn't pan out well.

   Cha nel shen deyr son y leagh t'er reddyn nish.

   That's not dear as things go.

   Kanys ta reddyn goll er?

   How are things?

   Son y chied red, t'eh ro vie dy ve firrinagh.

   For one thing, it is too good to be true.

   Ta reddyn couyral.

   Things are getting better.

   Ta reddyn ennagh ayn nagh vel niart ain orroo.

   There are some things we cannot help.

   Ta shen red aitt.

   That's a curious thing.

   T'eh yn un red.

   It amounts to the same thing.

   T'eh çheet stiagh rish yn red elley.

   It falls in with the other thing.

   She'n red hene eh y traa shoh.

   It's the real thing this time.

   Va shen yn red cooie dy ghra.

   That was the appropriate thing to say.

2. matter

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English rǣd, from Proto-West Germanic *rād, from Proto-Germanic *rēdaz.

Alternative forms

• ræd, rede, reed

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛːd/, /reːd/

Noun

red (plural redes)

1. counsel, advice, recommendation
2. persuasion, convincing
3. agreement, permission, allowance
4. decree, edict
5. decision, will, purpose
6. judgement, judicial decision, opinion
7. plan, strategy, programme, plot
8. event, happening, occurrence
9. benefit, boon, help
10. deliberation, discussion
11. wisdom

Related terms

• hird

Descendants

• English: rede
• Scots: rede

References

• “rēd, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.

Etymology 2

From Old English hrēod, from Proto-West Germanic *hreud.

Alternative forms

• red, reed, reede, reod, reede, rode, rued

Pronunciation

• (Early Middle English) IPA^(key): /røːd/
• IPA^(key): /reːd/

Noun

red (plural redes)

1. reed, flax (plant)
2. The stalk of a reed
3. straw, thatching
4. reed pen

Descendants

• English: reed
• Scots: reed

References

• “rēd, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.

Etymology 3

From Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós.

Alternative forms

• redde, reed, read, ræd

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛːd/, /reːd/

Adjective

red (comparative redder, superlative reddest)

1. red, crimson, scarlet (in color)
2. red pigment
3. reddened, dyed red
4. blushing, red-faced
5. bloody, blood-stained
6. ruddy, rosy
7. red-haired
8. red-clothed, wearing red
9. (metal) golden
10. (alchemy) causing transmutation into gold

Descendants

• English: red
• Scots: rede, reid
• Yola: reed

References

• “rēd, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.

Noun

red

1. red (colour)
2. red pigment, vermillion, cinnabar
3. (heraldry) red, gules (tincture)
4. reddish or ruddy skin
5. reddish eyes or irises
6. red fabric
7. red wine
8. blood

Related terms

• Rede See

Descendants

• English: red
• Scots: rede, reid
• Yola: reed

See also

Colors in Middle English · coloures, hewes (layout · text)

whit	grey, hor	blak
red; cremesyn, gernet	citrine, aumbre; broun, tawne	yelow, dorry, gul; canevas
grasgrene	grene
plunket; ewage	asure, livid	blewe, blo, pers
violet; inde	rose, murrey; purpel, purpur	claret

References

• “rēd, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.

Northern Kurdish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛd

Verb

red

1. to disappear.

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• rei

Verb

red

1. simple past of ri
2. simple past of ride

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /red/

Noun

red m

1. Alternative form of ræd

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛt
• Syllabification: red

Noun

red

1. genitive plural of reda

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *rędъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rêːd/

Noun

rȇd m (Cyrillic spelling ре̑д)

1. row
2. (mathematics) series

   konvergentan red ― convergent series

   divergentan red ― divergent series

3. queue
4. order (of magnitude)
5. order (arrangement, disposition)
6. line (of customers)
7. (chess) rank
8. (religion) order

   franjevački red ― order of Saint Francis of Assisi

Declension

Declension of red

	singular	plural
nominative	rȇd	rȅdovi
genitive	rȇda	rȅdōvā
dative	rȇdu	rȅdovima
accusative	rȇd	rȅdove
vocative	rȇde	rȅdovi
locative	rȇdu	rȅdovima
instrumental	rȇdom	rȅdovima

References

• “red”, in Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *rędъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /réːt/

Noun

rẹ̑d m inan

1. order (arrangement, disposition)

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem, plural in -ôv-
nom. sing.	réd
gen. sing.	réda
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	réd	redôva	redôvi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	réda	redôv	redôv
dative (dajȃlnik)	rédu	redôvoma	redôvom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	réd	redôva	redôve
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	rédu	redôvih	redôvih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	rédom	redôvoma	redôvi

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	réd
gen. sing.	réda
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	réd	réda	rédi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	réda	rédov	rédov
dative (dajȃlnik)	rédu	rédoma	rédom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	réd	réda	réde
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	rédu	rédih	rédih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	rédom	rédoma	rédi

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /réːt/

Noun

rẹ̑d f

1. swath (the track cut out by a scythe in mowing)

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, i-stem, long mixed accent
nom. sing.	réd
gen. sing.	redí
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	réd	redí	redí
genitive (rodȋlnik)	redí	redí	redí
dative (dajȃlnik)	rédi	redéma	redém
accusative (tožȋlnik)	réd	redí	redí
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	rédi	redéh	redéh
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	redjó	redéma	redmí

Further reading

• “red”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “red”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

FWOTD – 8 May 2013

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish red, from Latin rēte (“net”). Cognate with English rete.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈred/ [ˈreð̞]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ed
• Syllabification: red

Noun

red f (plural redes)

1. (hunting, tools) web, mesh
2. (fishing) net
   • 1911, Benito Pérez Galdós, De Cartago a Sagunto : 13:

     Si se consigue pescar a Dorregaray con cuarenta mil duretes, a Cástor Andéchaga con veinticinco mil, y a otros tales, habremos hecho más que cogiendo en la red a los bicharracos de menor cuantía.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. spiderweb

   Synonyms: telaraña, tela de araña

4. trap, snare

   Synonyms: trampa, cepo

5. (communication, transport) net, network

   red de carreteras ― highway network

   red de radiodifusoras ― radio broadcasters network

   red televisiva ― TV broadcasting network

6. (sports) net, goal
7. (electricity) grid

   fuera de la red ― off the grid

8. (informal, sometimes capitalized) Web, Internet
   • 2013 January 16, “España: al 74% le gustaría acceder por Red a su historial clínico”, in El País‎^[4]:

     La mayoría de la población (84%) accede a la red para temas relacionados con la sanidad.

     Most of the population (84%) accesses the web for health-related topics.

   • 2021 January 29, Sara Rivas Moreno, quoting Paula González, “Las pymes montan la tienda en Instagram”, in El País‎^[5], Madrid, →ISSN:

     "Nunca hemos hecho una campaña ni hemos pagado por seguidores, pero como soy prehistórica de la Red, me une una relación de contacto y amistad con muchas influencers; de no ser así, no nos sacarían", puntualiza.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

9. (in the plural) social networks

   Synonym: redes sociales

Derived terms

• enredar
• enredo
• red de pesca
• red social
• red trófica
• redada
• redecilla
• redil
• romperedes

 

Related terms

• reticular
• retina

 

Further reading

• “red”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reːd/
• Rhymes: -eːd

Verb

red

1. imperative of reda
2. past indicative of rida

Anagrams

• der

Turkish

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

red (definite accusative reddi, plural redler)

1. Alternative form of ret (“refusal, rejection”)

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from English red.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /red/

Noun

red (nominative plural reds)

1. the colour red

Declension

declension of red

	singular	plural
nominative	red	reds
genitive	reda	redas
dative	rede	redes
accusative	redi	redis
vocative 1	o red!	o reds!
predicative 2	redu	redus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Derived terms

• redik

See also

Colors in Volapük · köls (layout · text)

viet	ged	bläg
red	rojan; braun	yelov
	grün
		blöv
violät	purpur	redül

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English redden, from Old English *ryddan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɾɛd/

Verb

red (past participle ee-rid)

1. to clear, make bare
   • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, line 11:

     In durk Ich red virst mee left-vooted shoe."

     In the dark I happened first on my left-footed shoe."

References

• Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 129