Azure Meaning
/ˈæʒə/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.
nounA blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines.
Sentence Examples
I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of her azure eyes.
Azure blue, green, yellow, let's add the red aza, here is the Amazigh flag!
CEFR Practice Quiz
The clear sky was a brilliant ____ that stretched from horizon to horizon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sky was a beautiful ____ blue on the first morning of the summer.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, derived from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, “lapis lazuli”), dropping the l as if it were equivalent to the French article l'. The Arabic is from Classical Persian لاجورد (lājward, “lapis lazuli”), from the region of Lajward in Badakhshan. Compare with Italian azzurro and Spanish azul.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In robes of azure."
— 1815, William Wordsworth, Extracts from An Evening Walk:
"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:
"Berington of Chester (on the authority of Harleian manuscript No. 1535) is said to bear a plain shield of azure. Personally I doubt this coat of arms […]"
— 1904, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory, London : T.C.; & E.C. Jack, page 41:
"In Bb [Glover's Roll], the conventional letter B is used to indicate azure in most items."
— 1997, Brault, Early Blazon:
"Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy: before 1399: or, a lion rampant azure, differentiated with a label gules (a blue lion rampant on a field of gold, differentiated with a red label signifying the first-born son) […]"
— 2010, E. Baumgaertner Wm E. Baumgaertner, Wm E. Baumgaertner, Squires, Knights, Barons, Kings: War and Politics in Fifteenth Century England, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The clear sky was a brilliant ____ that stretched from horizon to horizon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sky was a beautiful ____ blue on the first morning of the summer.