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Blue is any of a number of similar colors. When it is a pure color from a single source, it corresponds with a wavelength range of about 420–490 nanometers. It is considered to be one of the three primary additive colors in RGB system; blue light has the shortest wavelength range of the three additive primary colors. The English language commonly uses "blue" to refer to any color from navy blue to cyan.

Blue in RGB system

In the RGB color system, colors are formed by mixing a red, a green and a blue color. When talking about RGB, therefore, some people use blue to mean that specific blue, which varies in shade according to the device used to display the RGB color. Absolute color spaces based on RGB, such as sRGB define an exact color for this blue, which may differ from the actual blue used in a particular computer monitor.

Naming and etymology

Blue in English

The modern English word blue comes from the Middle English, bleu or blwe, which came from an Old French word bleu of Germanic origin (Frankish or possibly Old High German blao, "shining"). Bleu replaced Old English blaw. The root of these variations was the Proto-Germanic blæwaz, which was also the root of the Old Norse world bla and the modern Scandinavian word blå (blue). A Scots and Scottish English word for "blue-grey" is blae, from the Middle English bla ("dark blue," from the Old English blæd). As a curiosity, blue is thought to be cognate with blond and black through the Germanic word. Through a Proto-Indoeuropean root, it is also linked with Latin flavus ("yellow"; see flavescent and flavine), with Greek phalos (white), Spanish blanco (white), and with Russian белый, belyi ("white," see beluga), and Welsch blawr (grey) all of which derive (according to the American Heritage Dictionary) from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel- meaning "to shine, flash or burn", (more specifically the word bhle-was, which meant light coloured, blue, blond, or yellow), from whence came the names of various bright colors, and that of color black from a derivation meaning "burnt" (other words derived from the root bhel- include bleach, bleak, blind, blink, blank, blush, blaze, flame, fulminate, flagrant and phlegm).

Blue and green in other languages

Many languages do not have separate terms for blue and or green. Instead using a cover term for both (when the issue is discussed in linguistics, this cover term is sometimes called grue in English). For example, in Vietnamese both tree leaves and the sky are xanh (to distinguish, one may use xanh lá cây "leaf grue" for green and xanh nước "water grue" for blue). Chinese has a word 青 qīng that can refer to both, though it also has separate words for blue (蓝 / 藍, lán) and green (绿 / 綠, lǜ). In Japanese the word for blue (青"ao") is often used for colors that English speakers would refer to as green, such as the color of a traffic signal meaning "go". Some Nguni languages of southern Africa, including Setswana utilize the same word for blue and green. In traditional Welsh (and related Celtic languages), glas could refer to blue but also to certain shades of green and grey; however, modern Welsh is tending towards the 11-color Western scheme, restricting glas to blue and using gwyrdd for green and llwyd for grey.Similarly, in Gaelic, glas can mean various shades of green and grey (like the sea), while liath is grey proper (like a horse), and the term for blue proper is gorm (like the sky or Cairngorm mountains). In Swedish, blå, the modern word for blue, was also used to describe black until the early 20th century.

Blue in Russian language

On the other hand, Russian does not have a single word referring to the whole range of colors denoted by the English term "blue." Instead, it traditionally treats light blue (голубой, goluboy) as a separate color independent from plain or dark blue (синий, siniy), with all 7 "basic" colors of spectrum (red - orange - yellow - green - (ru:голубой / goluboy / light blue, not equal cyan) - (ru:синий / siniy / dark blue) - violet); while in English the light blues like azure and cyan are considered mere shades of "blue" and not shades of a different color. To better understand this, consider that English makes a similar distinction between "red" and light red (pink, which is considered a different color and not merely a kind of red), but such a distinction is unknown in several other languages; for example, both "red" (红 / 紅, hóng) and "pink" (粉红, fěn hóng, lit. "powder red") have traditionally been considered varieties of a single color in Chinese.

Blue in Italian

Like Russian, Italian treats light blue ("azzurro") as a separate color, which is to blue as pink is to red.

Blue in Turkish language

Finally, it has been argued that Turkish treats dark or navy blue (lacivert, curiously a cognate of English azure and lapis lazuli) as a separate color from plain or light blue (mavi).

Blue in the environment

A clear sky on a sunny day appears blue because of Rayleigh scattering of the light from the Sun.

Large quantities of water appear blue because red light around 750 nm is absorbed as an overtone of the O-H stretching vibration. Heavy water is colorless, because the absorption band (~950 nm) is outside the visible spectrum.

Plants

Animals

When a dog or cat is described as having a "blue" coat, it refers to a shade of grey which takes on a bluish tint, and diluted variant of a pure black coat. Breeds such as the Kerry Blue Terrier dog and Russian Blue cat have solid "blue" coats, as does the "British Blue" variety of the British Shorthair cat. Others, such as the Australian Shepherd and Border Collie, may have blue merle coats, which is "blue" mixed in with a solid, usually brown or black, base color. (See also Blue Dog Democrats, below).

The western skink has a brilliant cobalt blue tail.

Geography

Mountains and ranges

Rivers

Symbolism and expressions

Blue often denotes injury, such as in the phrase "black and blue," since it is the color of a bruise. Blue is used also as a word to denote a sad or melancholy state, as in depression, or simply a state of deep contemplation (however, the phrase "blue skies," referring to sunny weather, implies cheerfulness). Symbolically, blue is associated with that state, such as the term blue period to describe Pablo Picasso's work from 1901 to 1904.

  • Blue is associated with water.

  • Blue is considered a calming, soothing colour, perhaps related to its association with water and to the sky.

  • Blue has the connotation of conservatism, tradition, and stability, in contrast with red which seems more radical, which is probably why blue is used more by conservative parties. Paradoxically, the more liberal U.S. Democratic Party uses blue as its color, whereas red is associated with the conservative Republican Party. This shift occurred in the 2000 Presidential election in which states which leaned toward Al Gore were colored blue and those that leaned towards George W. Bush were colored red. Why the United States runs contrary to the rest of the world on this matter is unknown, but it is frequently attributed by liberals to the Republican Party's desire to appear to be the party of "red-blooded Americans", leaving the other "American" color, blue, to the Democrats. Alternatively, some claim that liberals desired to dissociate themselves from a color still seen by many Americans as a symbol of communism.

  • Blue is often a colour used to symbolise honesty and trustworthiness. Hence it is used by mortgage companies and banks, as well as the clothing of businesspeople.

  • Blue sky is a term used to describe the ability to conceptualize or create something from nothing. In other words, ex nihilo. It is a term that can describe a person, i.e. She's an amazing blue sky business analyst. It can also be used to illustrate constraints, i.e. You cannot work from a blue sky angle as there are limitations to what can be done for this project.

  • In old Australian slang, a "blue" can also describe a fight or an argument. Men with red hair may be nicknamed "Bluey". The phrase "true blue" also means "genuine" (example : "He's a true blue Aussie").

  • Although blue is traditionally associated with boys as pink is associated with girls, there have also been periods in which pink was considered proper for boys and blue for girls, and times when no set color convention appears to have been in place. *

  • In Swedish the phrase blåögd (blue-eyed) can refer to a naïve person or to an idea that is naïve. Perhaps because blue eyes in some places are more common in children, but in Sweden blue eyes are common amongst adults, so the origin of the saying is unclear.

  • Blue is the color of the snooker ball which has a 5-point value.

  • Blue is a variety of credit card issued by American Express.
  • The German word for blue is used for "drunk". "blau machen" (make blue) means to skip work.
  • In Russian, the word for light blue is slang for "gay".
  • In auto racing, a blue flag advises a car to yield to faster traffic behind.
  • Blue balls is a slang term for a temporary fluid congestion in the scrotum and prostate region. It is most commonly associated with adolescents but can occur in any sexually mature male. It is often accompanied by a deep, agonizing, cramping ache.
  • Royalty are sometimes described as having blue blood.
  • A "blue chip" is the nickname for a stock that is thought to be safe and in excellent financial shape.
  • In the United States, one dollar bill|$1 bills" target="_blank" >* are delivered by the Federal Reserve Bank in blue straps.
  • Blue is the color claimed by the Crips street gang.
  • Blueprint is a term for a design of something, usually important items.

Books and written works

In the United Kingdom the traditional covering for Parliamentary and official publications and reports in the nineteenth century was a deep blue, and the reports came to be known as "blue books". In present usage a blue book is usually an almanac or similar reference work. For example, the Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact repository of the state of Oregon, while the Harvard Bluebook dictates a style of legal citation. The Blue Book is a term for a policy document issued by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States in 1946, urging television networks to uphold their commitment to public service. The Kelley Blue Book is a popular guide used for automobile prices.

A "blue examination book" is a book of blank, lined writing paper having a blue cover. It is often used in American schools and universities as a convenient place for students to write answers to problems and essays during an examination. A popular supplier of blue examination books is Roaring Spring Paper Products in Roaring Spring, PA, originally founded as the Roaring Spring Blank Book Company in 1887.

Blue pages are a telephone directory of government offices—either an official blue book or a section of a commercial directory. Compare with the yellow pages or white pages.

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy there are many references to the Hooloovoo, "a super-intelligent shade of the color blue."

In House of Leaves every instance of the word House is in blue.

On Being Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry is a book-length essay by William H. Gass.

In the non-canon Star Trek series Starfleet Corps of Engineers, there is a character called P8 Blue who is a civilian.

Prizes

"Blue ribbon" is a term used to describe something of high quality, such as a blue-ribbon panel or a blue-ribbon commission. This comes from the practice of awarding blue ribbons for first place in competitions. The Blue Riband was a notional prize conferred since the 1860s to the ship that made the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing. The first ship actually to fly a blue pennant from her masthead upon winning this was the French liner Normandie in 1936.

Math, science, and technology

  • "Big Blue" is a nickname for IBM.

  • A blue box is an electronic device with a tone pulsator that simulates a telephone operator's dialing console by replicating the tones used to switch long-distance calls and using them to route the user's own call, bypassing the normal switching mechanism. They were used to avoid charges for telephone calls.

  • In medical diagrams, blue is used to represent veins carrying deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Deoxygenated blood is actually reddish violet. When a medical patient is not getting enough oxygen or has stopped breathing, however, their skin often takes a blue tint, a condition called cyanosis. The blue color of veins is associated with deoxygenated myoglobin, a compound similar to hemoglobin and found in tissues.

  • In astronomy, a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month, the third full moon in a season that has four, or a moon that appears blue because of particles in the atmosphere. All are uncommon enough that the expression "once in a blue moon" means "once in a great while" or "infrequently."

  • Blue 80A filters are used to correct the excessive redness of tungsten lighting in color photography.

National, athletic, and university associations

Azzurro, a light blue, is the national color of Italy (from the livery color of the former reigning family, the House of Savoy).

Blue (along with white) is the national color of Israel and the color is seen on the Israeli flag.

Dark blue is associated with the University of Oxford and Florida International University Light blue is associated with the University of Cambridge. The sporting colours of these universities are called "the blues". Those who represent their university in certain sports are allowed to wear a blue blazer, and the selection of someone to represent their university is therefore known as being "awarded a blue". (At Cambridge, female students who are particularly attracted to male students with a blue are nicknamed "blue-tac"). The awarding of a Blue is followed by many universities in the Commonwealth of Nations for outstanding sporting achievement.

A specific shade of dark blue is associated with Yale University. Blue Devils are the mascot of many American universities; Duke University's blue devils are the most famous. Ironically their rivals the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also uses a shade of blue as their school color. This has led many to associate their school colors to differentiate shades of blue in daily occurrences, with the darker blue known as "Duke blue" and the lighter powder blue as "Carolina blue." Other universities with the mascot include Central Connecticut State University, Dillard University, Lawrence Technological University, State University of New York at Fredonia, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The University of Michigan wolverines' fans usually chant "Let's go blue!" during sporting events.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a National Hockey League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jays are the mascots of the Toronto Blue Jays, a Major League Baseball team, and its two minor league affiliates: the Dunedin Blue Jays in Dunedin, Florida, and the Pulaski Blue Jays in Pulaski, Virginia.

Social class, occupation, and military associations

Blue may denote the working class, derived from the traditional color of factory uniforms. Blue-collar workers are industrial workers and are often contrasted with white-collar office workers. However, in contrast to "blue collar," the phrase "blue blood" is used to mean "from an aristocratic background," because pale, untanned skin–historically, a sign of nobility–allows blue-tinged veins to show through.

Several vocations are associated with blue. Law enforcement, and uniformed police, often wear blue uniforms and have become associated with the color, as seen in phrases such as "boys in blue," "blue line," and "blue wall." Most police cars have blue colors, and United Nations peacekeepers are uniformed in blue and white. "Bluecoat" (akin to "redcoat") refers to a uniformed police officer. Police in the People's Republic of China changed the color of their uniforms from green to blue in the late 1990s, partly to emphasize their civilian role. Since laws prohibit police from declaring a strike, the "blue flu" is a "sickout": a type of strike action in which police call in sick.

Blue is associated with many air forces and navies because of the color of their dress uniforms, while green is associated with armies.

  • Navy blue is a particular shade of blue worn by sailors in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. The Blue Angels are an acrobatic flight squadron of the United States Navy.
  • In the United States Army, "Old Glory Blue" (Navy blue) is the color of infantry, "Cobalt Blue" is the color of the Chemical Corps, "Oriental Blue" is the color of Military Intelligence, and Ultramarine Blue is the color of the Army Aviation.
  • When the United States Air Force became independent from the Army in 1947, it inherited ultramarine blue as its distinctive color.
  • The Royal Air Force and many other air forces use "Air Force Blue" (Sky blue) as their distinctive colour; however their uniforms are often in blue-gray or dark blue.

Political associations

Main article: Political colour

Blue, like white, may represent authority, as opposed to revolutionary red or anarchist black.

Internationally, blue is the symbol for conservatism and conservative political parties. In Ireland, the political connotations of blue, denote the Fine Gael party, a Christian Democratic organisation and Ireland's traditional "law-and-order" party. The accompanying term Blueshirt is used as a term of abuse against them, linking them to the quasi fascist Blueshirts of the 1930s, from whom they are part decended. In the United Kingdom, it is the colour of the Conservative Party. There are several notable exceptions and different meanings other than the conservatism:

NationPolitical partyIdeologyColor(s)
Australia Liberal Party Liberal conservatism Blue
Bulgaria Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) Liberal conservatism Blue
Canada Bloc Québécois Quebec sovereignty/Social democracy Light blue
Canada Conservative Party Conservatism/right-wing Blue
Finland National Coalition Party Liberal conservatism Blue
Germany Free Democratic Party Liberalism Blue and yellow
Malta Nationalist Party Christian democracy/Conservatism Blue
Paraguay Authentic Radical Liberal Party Liberalism Blue
Puerto Rico New Progressive Party Puerto Rican statehood Blue
Sweden Moderate Party Liberal conservatism Blue
Republic of China (Taiwan) Kuomintang ( Chinese Nationalist Party ) Conservatism/Chinese reunification Blue
United Kingdom Conservative Party Conservatism Blue
United States Democratic Party Liberalism Blue*

*In the United States, since the 2000 presidential election, blue represents the Democratic Party, and "blue states" are states that tend to favor the Democrats. (The rival right-wing Republicans became associated with red, and states that favor the Republicans are "red states." While there was no universal color association prior to 2000, some electoral maps either used blue to represent the incumbent and red for the challenger, or alternated. Each party uses all three national colors (red, white, and blue) in official materials. The Blue Dog Democrat coalition is a caucus of conservative Democrats in Congress.

During the American Civil War, blue was used to represent the Union, while gray represented the Confederacy. This representation was based on the uniforms worn by the respective armies, although uniforms remained non-standard throughout the war and sometimes the colors were switched.

The coalition with the Kuomintang, People's First Party, and the New Party in Taiwan, which favors unification with mainland China is called the Pan-blue coalition due to the color of the party banner of the Kuomintang which is considered the dominant party of the coalition.

Religion

Blue plays a symbolic role in a number of world religions. In the Hindu faith, persons of a transcendental, or divine nature are displayed as being blue in colour to indicate their dark complexion. The deity Krishna is probably the most famous of this type of depiction within Hindu art. Lord Shiva's neck has blue color to show that the poison he took to save the world from destruction is still staying in his throat.

The inside of the open dome in Eastern Rite Churches is painted blue to give the impression of looking up into the heavens. Blue is also the colour Mary wears in iconography.

Television

Blue is the color and name of the main character (a dog) in the preschool animated educational television show Blue's Clues.

On Star Trek, medical and scientific personnel wear blue uniforms.

On Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, there is a character named Blooregard Q. Kazoo, more commonly named Bloo, and pronounced blue. He is a blue bloblike imaginary friend.

Music

Blues is a music genre. A blue note is a note between the regular notes on the scale. Blue notes are the most important notes in the blues scale.

Bands called "Blue" include two British musical groups: the rock group Blue and the boy band Blue. Blue is the title of an album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, and Kind of Blue is the title of an album by Miles Davis, one of the world's best-selling jazz recordings. Blue Man Group is a performance art group founded in New York City in 1987.

Blue Train is an influential jazz album by John Coltrane. Rhapsody in Blue is a symphonic jazz composition for jazz band, piano, and orchestra by George Gershwin, while Love is Blue is a popular tune from the 1960s originally recorded by Vicky Leandros and most notably performed by Paul Mauriat.

"Blue" has been used as a song title by many artists, notably LeAnn Rimes and Eiffel 65. Cristian Castro's song "Azul" (Spanish for "blue") repeats the line "This love is blue as the sea" (Este amor es azul como el mar).

Other songs which use the word blue include:

Film

Use in painting

Traditionally, blue has been considered a primary color in painting, with the secondary color orange as its complement, but this is not consistent with modern scientific color theory. As the mixing of pigments is a subtractive color process, the true primary colors in painting and printing are cyan, magenta and yellow (with black often added for practical reasons; see CMYK color model).

Variations

Blue pigments

Natural etalons of blue

  • Emission spectrum of Cu2+
  • Electronic spectrum of aqua-ions Cu*52+

See also

External links

Blue is also a common nickname; along with Blu, Blew, or Bleu.

Optical spectrum

Blou (kleur) | ܡܝܠܢܐ | Plava | Blau | Modrá | Blå | Blau | Μπλε (χρώμα) | Azul | Blua | Urdin | Bleu | Azul | Biru | Blár | Blu | כחול | Blo | Mėlyna | Bulé | Kék | Ikħal | Biru | Texohtic | Blauw | 青 | Blå | Blå | Bliu | كۆك رەڭ | Blau | Barwa niebieska | Azul | Albastru | Синий цвет | Blue | Modrá | Modra | Плава боја | Sininen | Blå | Xanh lam | Mavi | 藍色

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Blue".

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