Khaki
The color khaki (UK: /ˈkɑːki/, US: /ˈkæki/) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge.
Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy or dusty terrain. It has been used as a color name in English since 1848 when it was introduced as a military uniform.[1] In Western fashion, it is a standard color for smart casual dress trousers for civilians, which are also often called khakis.
In British English and some other Commonwealth usage, khaki may also refer to a shade of green known as olive drab.[2][3][4]
Etymology
Khaki is a loanword from Urdu خاکی 'soil-colored', which in turn comes from Persian خاک [χɒːk] khâk 'soil' + ی (adjectival attributive suffix); it came into English via the British Indian Army.[5][6]
Origin
Khaki was first worn as a uniform in the
Military use
The impracticality of traditional bright colors such as the red coat, especially for skirmishing, was recognised early in the 19th century.[8][9] A response to improved technologies such as aerial surveillance and smokeless powder, khaki could camouflage soldiers in the field of battle.[10][6]
Khaki-colored uniforms were used officially by British troops for the first time during the
During the Second Boer War, the British forces became known as Khakis because of their uniforms.[citation needed] After victory in the war, the government called an election, which became known as the khaki election, a term used subsequently for elections called to exploit public approval of governments immediately after military victories.
The United States Army adopted khaki during the Spanish–American War (1898), replacing their traditional blue field uniforms. The United States Navy and United States Marine Corps followed suit, authorizing khaki field and work uniforms.
When khaki was adopted for the continental British
Use in civilian clothing
Following World War II, military-issue khaki-colored chino cloth twill trousers became a common part of civilian clothing. Today, the term khakis is sometimes used to refer to the style of trousers, properly called chinos, regardless of their color.
Tones of khaki
Light khaki
Light Khaki | ||
---|---|---|
(90, 62, 80°) | ||
Source | X11[12] | |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Light greenish yellow | |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
At right is displayed the color light khaki (also called khaki tan or just tan).
Khaki
Khaki (HTML/CSS) | ||
---|---|---|
(73, 28, 61°) | ||
Source | HTML/CSS | |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Grayish yellow | |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
This is the
The color shown at right matches the color designated as khaki in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the standard for color nomenclature before the introduction of computers.
Dark khaki
Dark Khaki | ||
---|---|---|
(73, 52, 82°) | ||
Source | X11 | |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Moderate greenish yellow | |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
At right is displayed the web color dark khaki.[13]
It corresponds to Dark Khaki in the X11 color names.
Khaki green
Khaki green | ||
---|---|---|
(53, 48, 101°) | ||
Source | wikimix | |
ISCC–NBS descriptor | Pale olive brown | |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
At right is displayed the color khaki green, sometimes called simply khaki in
See also
References
- ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 197; Color Sample of Khaki: Page 49 Plate 13 Color Sample J7
- ^ "Khaki entry in Cambridge Dictionary". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Khaki definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com.
- ^ Sykes, Pandora. "Wardrobe Mistress: how to tackle the khaki jacket". The Times. The Times (of London). Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Dictionary Meaning: Khaki; TheFreeDictionary; Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Encyclopedia
- ^ OCLC 936144129.
- ^ "Khaki Uniform 1848–49: First Introduction by Lumsden and Hodson", Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 82 (Winter 2004) pp 341–347
- ^ Williams, Cynric R. (1827). Hamel, the Obeah man (1st ed.). London: Hunt and Clarke. p. 279. Retrieved 3 February 2016."...A red-coat on one of these rocks will only be a mark for these rebels."
- ^ "The Army". Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. 60 (370): 144. "...scarlet is unmilitary, first, because it is tawdry ; and secondly, as rendering the soldier, when isolated, an easier mark than a less glaring colour." (1846)
- ^ Tynan, Jane (2013). British Army Uniform and the First World War: Men in Khaki. London: Palgrave MacMillan.
- ^ Byron Farwell, Armies of the Raj, 1989, page 75.
- ^ Çelik, Tantek; Lilley, Chris; Baron, L. David; W3C; Baron, L. David (19 June 2018). "CSS Color Module Level 3". www.w3.org. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ CSS3 Color Module, retrieved 2010-09-12