cerulean
- Of a deep, pure sky-blue color.
In a sentence
- The artist mixed cerulean and white to capture the pale cerulean of the midwinter sky.
- She wore a cerulean scarf that matched the color of the Mediterranean on a calm afternoon.
Usage note. Cerulean specifically suggests a bright, clear, mid-to-light blue — closer to sky than to navy; do not use it for dark or grayish blues.
Where it comes from
English cerulean — “clear sky-blue” · entered English 17th c.
From Latin 'caeruleus', meaning 'blue' or 'dark blue', likely derived from 'caelum' meaning 'sky' or 'heaven'. The Latin term was used by classical authors to describe the sea and sky. It entered English in the 17th century, primarily as a poetic and artistic color term.