cerulean meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

cerulean

noun

/səˈɹuːli.ən/

Etymology From Latin caeruleus (“blue”) + -an, from caelum (“sky, heaven”) + -uleus (diminutive suffix).

A greenish-blue color.

For our blues we have the azures and ceruleans, lapis lazulis, the light and dusty, the powder blues, the deeps: royal, sapphire, navy, and marine […]2014, William H. Gass, On Being Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry, page 59:

Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Jamides.

adj

Etymology From Latin caeruleus (“blue”) + -an, from caelum (“sky, heaven”) + -uleus (diminutive suffix).

Sky-blue.

As far to the west as Monica could see, her world was a sea of fog, […]. Above it arched a cerulean sky; as the sun climbed to the zenith, […], the fog gradually took on a bluish tinge.1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter II, in The Understanding Heart:
Oh Ramona, if there was only some kind of future / And these cerulean skies / Something in our skies, something in our skies1995, “The Hearts Filthy Lesson”, in 1. Outside, performed by David Bowie:

1 more example

But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets?2006, Aline Brosh McKenna, Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada, spoken by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep):