English has spent centuries collecting words. Many, many, many of those words describe colors. Given the number of color terms, and their often fleeting nature, it can be hard to keep track of when these terms came about. For example, I was somewhat surprised to learn that Shakespeare would have been fully familiar with the terms 'umber' and 'ochre', but not with 'brindled' or 'buff'.
Of course, some words are a bit iffy, having been in use for decades, or even centuries, before they were documented as a term specifically to refer to colors, such as 'lily' and 'bronze'. Many, such as 'cobalt' and 'ultramarine' come from the names of dyes; in some cases (such as 'indigo') the use of these specifically as color terms trailed significantly behind their recognition as dyes. This makes it hard to pin down exactly when a color term first appeared as a color term.
While some terms have been with us since the days of Old English, others were imported whole cloth from French or invented as needed. While the 1800s saw a slew of color terms adapted from the French to help sell subtle shades colors to rich people, other terms have a more exciting history, such as the color 'butternut', created to refer to the color of the Southern army uniforms in the American Civil War, or khaki, used to refer to the 'dirt colored' uniforms of the British Indian Army. (Although the French fashion term 'puce' refers to the color of a blood-swollen flea, so they weren't all so boring themselves.)
In the interest of sanity, I have started the timeline at 'Old English'. A number of the later terms are also firmly rooted in Old English, but were not documented as being used specifically as a color term until later on. Others were borrowed or invented from any number of different backgrounds. If you are lucky, you may be able to find their backstories in their respective nodes.
| Name |
Broad description |
First appeared |
| Red |
|
Old English |
| Yellow | | Old English |
| Green | | Old English |
| Purple | | Old English |
| White | | Old English |
| Black | | Old English |
| Gray | | Old English |
| Dun | Brown | Old English |
| Sallow | Dark | Old English |
| Fallow | Pale yellow | Old English |
| Brown | | c. 1200 |
| Blue | | c. 1200 |
| Burnet | Dark brown | c. 1200 |
| Lily white | White, pale | Early 1300s |
| Vermeil | Bright red | c. 1300s |
| Verdure | Bright green | c. 1300s |
| Azure | Bright blue, esp. heraldry | 1330 |
| Bay | Reddish-brown | Mid-1300s |
| Saffron | Orange-red | 1382 |
| Citrine | Yellow | 1386 |
| Scarlet | Red | Late 1300s |
| Sable | Black, esp. heraldry | Late 1300s |
| Pied | Black and white | Late 1300s |
| Violet | Purple | Late 1300s |
| Perse | Blue-grey, later purplish-black | Late 1300s |
| Crimson | Deep red | Early 1300s |
| Gold | | c. 1400 |
| Bice | Pale blue | Early 1400s |
| Livid | Bluish-leaden | Early 1400s |
| Grizzle | Grey | Early 1400s |
| Auburn | Originally yellowish-white, now brown; esp. hair. | 1400s | |
| Ochre | Brownish-yellow | Mid-1400s |
| Jet | Black | Mid-1400s |
| Russet | Reddish-brown | Early 1400s |
| Sorrel | Reddish-brown | Early 1400s |
| Silver | | c. 1450 |
| Coral | Originally red, now pink | 1513 |
| Flaxen | Yellowish-white | 1520s |
| Roan | Reddish-brown | 1520s |
| Rose | | 1530 |
| Carnation | The color of human flesh | 1530s |
| Orange | | 1540s |
| Argent | Silver, eps. heraldry | 1562 |
| Umber | Brown | 1560s |
| Amethyst | Light purple; originally esp. heraldry | 1572 |
| Ivory | White | 1580s |
| Piebald | A patchwork of two different colors | 1580s |
| Ultramarine | Dark blue | 1590 |
| Incarnadine | Flesh colored | 1590s |
| Hazel | Brown, esp. of eyes | 1592 |
| Ebon | Black | 1592 |
| Ebony | Black | 1620s |
| Indigo | Deep blue | 1620s |
| Chestnut | Brown | 1650s |
| Burnt umber | Reddish-brown | 1650s |
| Luteous | Orange-yellow | 1650s |
| Olive | Green-brown | 1657 |
| Tan | Light brown | 1660s |
| Cerulean | Dark blue, blue-green | 1660s |
| Carrot | Esp. hair | 1670s |
| Glaucous | Bluish-green or gray | 1670s |
| Brindled | Streaked, esp. animal's coat | 1678 |
| Peach blossom | Light pink | 1702 |
| Pink | | 1733 |
| Bistre | Dark brown or dark grayish-black | 1751 |
| Celadon | Pale grayish-green | 1768 |
| Chocolate | Brown | 1776 |
| Rufous | Reddish-brown | 1782 |
| Buff | Light brownish-yellow | 1786 |
| Puce | Brownish-purple | 1787 |
| Lilac | Light purple | 1791 |
| Maroon | Dark reddish-brown | 1791 |
| Lemon | Yellow | 1796 |
| Carmine | Dark red | 1799 |
| Ashen | Pale grey | 1808 |
| Bronze | Brown | 1817 |
| Sepia | Rich brown | 1821 |
| Navy blue | Dark blue | 1830s |
| Cobalt | Dark blue | 1835 |
| Prussian blue | Dark blue | 1837 |
| Lavender | Pale purple | 1840 |
| Ultraviolet | | 1840 |
| Geranium | Bright red | 1842 |
| Primrose | Pale yellow | 1844 |
| Multicolored | | 1845 |
| Aquamarine | Bluish-green | 1846 |
| Mustard | Yellow | 1848 |
| Turquoise | Green-blue | 1853 |
| Beige | Light brown | 1858 |
| Mauve | Bright purple | 1859 |
| Magenta | Bright pink | 1860 |
| Butternut | Brown-grey | 1861 |
| Khaki | Beige | 1863 |
| Chartreuse | Bright yellow-green | 1866 |
| Ecru | Beige | 1869 |
| Ultrared | Infrared | 1870 |
| Amaranthine | Purple | 1874 |
| Clair-de-lune | Light grey-blue | 1877 |
| Infrared | | 1881 |
| Robin's egg blue | Light blue | 1881 |
| Fawn | Brown | 1881 |
| Terra cotta | Brownish-red | 1882 |
| Cyan | Dark blue, blue-green | 1889 |
| Lime | Green | 1890 |
| Jade-green | Green | 1892 |
| Eggshell | White | 1894 |
| Powder blue | Light blue | 1894 |
| Mocha | Dark brown | 1895 |
| Aubergine | Purple | 1895 |
| Tangerine | Orange | 1899 |
| Gun-metal | Grey | 1905 |
| Lovat | Green-grey-blue | c.1905 |
| Apricot | Light yellowish-orangish | 1906 |
| Taupe | Dark brownish-gray | 1911 |
| Tony | Reddish-brown | 1920s |
| Fuchsia | Red-pink | 1923 |
| Teal | Green-blue | 1923 |
| Off-white | White | 1927 |
| Magnolia | Pale grey-green | 1931 |
| Aqua | Green-blue | 1936 |
| Avocado | Green | 1945 |
And there you have it. If I've missed your favorite color, let me know! I'll do my best to find its birth date and add it to the list.
Super cool further reading:
Colour terms in language
Old English and Germanic color terms
Tinctures used in heraldry
Victorian color terms
Wikipedia's list of modern color terms
A whole slew of terms I wanted to add, but didn't