Dictionary

eau de nil en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌoʊ.dəˈniːl/ (US)
• /ˌəʊ.dəˈniːl/ (UK)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. Of a pale green colour.

Forms

Relateds

Nile green

eau de nil en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌoʊ.dəˈniːl/ (US)
• /ˌəʊ.dəˈniːl/ (UK)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A pale green colour.
   • 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. 2018 February 13, Katy Kelleher, “Eau de Nil, the Light-Green Color of Egypt-Obsessed Europe”, in The Paris Review:
   • 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[…]. 1968, Alan Burgess, The Word for Love, page 241:
   • 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! 2000, Ciarán Carson, Fishing for Amber, page 143:
   • 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? 2011, Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight:
   • He had painted the ceiling and window and doorframes an aqua green, the walls eau-de-nil. 2009, Debra Adelaide, The Household Guide to Dying, page 298:

Forms