Russett, Rose, and Raspberry: The Development of English Secondary Color Terms

English simplex secondary color terms such as russett and rose first entered the language in the late Middle English period (1350–1500). All were innovated by means of the ontological metonymy "Entity stands for entity's color." Specific examples are: Rose stands for rose's color, and raspberry for raspberry's color. This metonym is an embodied cognitive structure based on experience with physical entities and their associated colors. Colorant and textile names such as russet, crimson, and scarlet were the earliest secondary color terms innovated. They referred to ingredients and products of color processing and, thus, were proximate entities that culture members could readily use as sources for new color terms.