Kermes
//ˈkɝ.miz// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of several insects of the genus Kermes. countable
- 2 A crimson dye made from the crushed bodies of these insects. uncountable
Etymology
PIE word *kʷŕ̥mis First attested ca. 1600, from French kermès, from Medieval Latin cremesinus (compare Italian chermes, Spanish carmes), from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz) (whence also Portuguese quermes, alquermes), from a Persian word meaning “worm-colored” (compare modern Persian قرمز (qermez)), ultimately Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš (“worm”), possibly via borrowing from a Sanskrit formation. Related to carmine and crimson. For the semantic development, compare vermilion from Latin vermis (“worm”) and its cognates.
Related phrases
More for "kermes"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.