vermillion

Noun

vermilion (countable and uncountable, plural vermilions)

1. A vivid red synthetic pigment made of mercury sulfide, cinnabar.
   • Take ſix Ounces of Brimſtone, and melt it in an Iron Ladle, then put two Pound of Quick-ſilver into a ſhammy Leather, or double Linnen Cloth, and ſqueeze it out into the melted Brimſtone, ſtirring them, in the mean Time, with a wooden Spatula till they are well united; and when they are cold, beat...1734, “VERMILION”, in The Builder's Dictionary: Or, Architect's Companion, volume II, London: Printed for A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch, […] and S. Austen, […]
2. A bright orange-red colour.
   • While this particular difference in the shade of vermilion is very striking in the symmetrical, smooth skins of even and regular make, which I have just compared, I must confess that it probably would not be in rough skins such as some European ornithologists appear still content with.1911 February 24, Outram Bangs, “Two New Birds from the Island of Molokai”, in Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, volume XXIV, page 29
3. A type of red dye worn in the parting of the hair by married Hindu women.

   Synonyms:

   sindoor

4. The red skin of the lips or its border with the skin of the face.
5. (obsolete) The kermes or cochineal insect.
6. (obsolete) The cochineal dye made from this insect.

See all 9 meanings of vermilion