eau de nil

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French eau de nil (literally “water of the Nile”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌəʊ.dəˈniːl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌoʊ.dəˈniːl/

Noun

eau de nil (plural eau de nils)

  1. A pale green colour.
    eau de nil:  
    • 1968, Alan Burgess, The Word for Love‎[1], page 241:
      It was a sprawling town of upended concrete boxes tilting pastel rectangles up towards the hot sun: soft blues, prawn reds, pale chocolates, delicate eau de nils, primrose yellows […] .
    • 2000, Ciarán Carson, Fishing for Amber‎[2], page 143:
      Such colouring! — slate blues, coral pinks, pale amphitrites, the wet cobblestone blue of mussels, frail sea-forget-me-nots, anemone yellows and carmines, emeralds and eau-de-nils!
    • 2009, Debra Adelaide, The Household Guide to Dying‎[3], page 298:
      He had painted the ceiling and window and doorframes an aqua green, the walls eau-de-nil.
    • 2011, Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight:
      Possibly the mauve one would look better,’ said Letitia, ‘although I have always been told that eau-de-nil is really my colour. By the way, could I make things up to you in some way by having you as my chief bridesmaid?
    • 2018 February 13, Katy Kelleher, “Eau de Nil, the Light-Green Color of Egypt-Obsessed Europe”, in The Paris Review‎[4]:
      Eau de Nil (“water of the Nile”) is a tricky color to pin down precisely. It is a light-greenish hue, more saturated than celadon, less gray than sage. It has tan undertones and a cool bluish cast. It is, confusingly, an entirely different color from Nile green.

Adjective

eau de nil

  1. Of a pale green colour.

See also

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