Vermeil
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Vermilion; bright red. poetic
"The mortall steele stayed not till it was seene / To gore her side; yet was the wound not deepe, / But lightly rased her soft silken skin, / That drops of purple blood thereout did weepe, / Which did her lilly smock with staines of vermeil steep."
- 2 Silver gilt or gilt bronze.
- 3 A liquid composition applied to a gilded surface to give luster to the gold.
- 1 Bright scarlet, vermilion. archaic, poetic
"And in her cheekes the vermeill red did shew / Like roses in a bed of lillies shed[…]."
- 2 Specifically of faces, lips etc.: red, ruddy, healthy-looking. archaic, poetic
"his carriage; demeanor, and venerable behaviour, in a face so young, vermeill, and heart enflaming[…]."
Example
More examples"And in her cheekes the vermeill red did shew / Like roses in a bed of lillies shed[…]."
Etymology
From Middle English vermayle, from Old French vermeil (“vermilion”), from Latin vermiculus (“little worm”), from vermis (“worm”), ultimately in reference to Kermes vermilio, a type of scale insect used to make a crimson dye. Doublet of vermicule.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.