Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vermilion

/vɚˈmɪl.jən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.75 in modern English

Syllables
ver-mil-ion
IPA
/vɚˈmɪl.jən/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A vivid red synthetic pigment made of mercury sulfide, cinnabar.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A bright orange-red colour.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A type of red dye worn in the parting of the hair by married Hindu women.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The red skin of the lips or its border with the skin of the face.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The kermes or cochineal insect.

Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

The cochineal dye made from this insect.

Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable

adj

Having the color of the vermilion dye.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis Proto-Italic *wormis Latin vermis Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin vermiculus Vulgar Latin *vermiclus Old French vermeil Old French vermeillonbor. Middle English vermelioun English vermilion From Middle English vermelioun, vermyloun, vermylon, vermilun, from Old French vermeillon (“vermilion”), from vermeil, 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. Displaced native Old English bōcrēad.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: vermelioun, vermeillon, vermiculus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /vɚˈmɪl.jən/
  • British English: /vəˈmɪl.jən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce vermilion?
The recorded pronunciation is /vɚˈmɪl.jən/.
What does vermilion mean?
A vivid red synthetic pigment made of mercury sulfide, cinnabar.
Where does vermilion come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce vermilion

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “vermilion”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/vɚˈmɪl.jən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “vermilion”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “vermilion” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.