ultramarine

Everyday

1. Ultramarine is a bright, deep blue colour. tree →
2. Ultramarine is also a blue pigment (colouring powder) for paint, first made by grinding a precious blue stone called lapis lazuli. tree →
3. (adjective) Ultramarine describes something that has this deep blue colour. tree →

In the lessons

In art lessons it is a paint colour in the paint box, used for skies and seas. In history of art, real ultramarine was more costly than gold, so painters saved it for special things such as the Virgin Mary's robe in old church paintings. The name means «beyond the sea», because the stone came from far away across the sea.

Examples

• I painted the sea with ultramarine. tree →
• The sky turned a deep ultramarine at dusk. tree →
• Mix ultramarine with white to make a pale blue. tree →
• Long ago, ultramarine paint cost more than gold. tree →
• She wore an ultramarine dress to the party. tree →
• Ultramarine was made from a blue stone called lapis lazuli. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable. Today most ultramarine paint is made artificially and is cheap. Do not confuse with «ultraviolet», light we cannot see.