See Also: scarlet(dictionary)
scarlet(dictionary)
scarlet red(medicine)
Scarlet(medicine)
Biebrich scarlet red(medicine)
scarlet woman(dictionary)
scarlet fever(dictionary)
Scarlet Pimpernel, The(dictionary)
scarlet fever(encyclopedia)
Scarlet fever(medicine)

scarlet (iou)



scarlet noun & adjective. ME.

A. noun.
Orig., any rich or brightly coloured cloth. Later, (cloth of) a brilliant red colour tinged with orange. ME.
Official or ceremonial clothing of scarlet, as a soldier's uniform, a judge's gown, a huntsman's coat, etc.; transf. the rank, dignity, or office signified by such clothing. L15.
a. A person who wears a uniform or insignia of scarlet. Only in E17.
b. collect. People clothed in scarlet. rare. E19.
A pigment or dye of the colour of scarlet; spec. any of a group of coal tar colouring matters used in such pigments and dyes. M17.
Any of several cultivated varieties of a N. American strawberry, Fragaria virginiana. Now chiefly in little scarlet, a variety grown for jam-making. E19.
b. adjective.
a. Of the colour scarlet. ME.
D. L. Sayers His scarlet robe clashed..with the crimson of the roses.
b. Clothed in scarlet, wearing a scarlet uniform or insignia. L16.
c. Red with shame or indignation. L16.
I. Murdoch His face..flushed scarlet with emotion.
Of an offence, sin, etc.: wicked, heinous. Also, sinful, immoral; esp. promiscuous, unchaste. M17.
Special collocations: scarlet-bean = scarlet runner below. scarlet day an occasion observed in civic life etc. by the public wearing of official robes of scarlet. scarlet grosbeak a common rosefinch, Carpodacus erythrinus. scarlet hat Roman Catholic Church a cardinal's hat as a symbol of rank. scarlet ibis an ibis, Eudocimus ruber, of northern S. America, which is bright red with black wing tips. scarlet king-snake = scarlet snake below. scarlet lady arch. derog. the Roman Catholic Church, regarded as excessively devoted to showy ritual (with allus. to Revelation 17). scarlet letter US History a representation of the letter A in scarlet cloth which people convicted of adultery were condemned to wear. scarlet LYCHNIS. scarlet macaw a large Central and S. American parrot, Ara macao, which is mainly red with yellow and blue on the wings, tail, etc. scarlet oak a N. American oak, Quercus coccinea, whose leaves turn bright red in autumn. scarlet pimpernel: see PIMPERNEL 3. scarlet rosefinch = scarlet grosbeak above. scarlet runner: see RUNNER noun 12b. scarlet snake a small colubrid snake, Cemophora coccinea, found in the south-eastern US, which is red with black and yellow bands. scarlet tanager a tanager, Piranga olivacea, of eastern N. America, the breeding male of which is bright red with black wings and tail. scarlet tiger (moth) a brightly coloured European moth, Callimorpha dominula, with red and black hindwings. scarlet whore derog. = scarlet lady above. scarlet woman derog. (a) = scarlet lady above; (b) a notoriously promiscuous woman, a prostitute.