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Maroon

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Maroon is a deep, rich color that sits between red and brown. While people often describe it as a brownish-red, different dictionaries offer slightly different definitions. The Cambridge English Dictionary calls it a dark reddish-purple. Lexico and Dictionary.com define it as a brownish-red or dark brownish-red. Other sources, like the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, describe it as a brownish-crimson or claret color. Because these shades overlap, maroon is closely related to colors like burgundy, claret, mulberry, and crimson.

Chestnut02
Chestnut02

In the digital world, maroon is created using the sRGB color model. This model is used for additive color representation on screens. To create the web color maroon, designers take pure red and turn down its brightness to about one half. This results in a specific shade with the values R=115, G=24, and B=44. Interestingly, maroon is the complement of the web color called teal. This means they sit opposite each other on the color wheel.

The name of the color has deep linguistic roots. It is derived from the French word *marron*, which means chestnut.

Chestnut02
Chestnut02

This word actually traveled through several languages over many centuries. It moved from medieval Greek into Italian, and then into French. The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in the English language occurred in 1789. This connection to the chestnut nut gives the color its warm, earthy feeling.

Maroon holds significant meaning in various religious and national traditions. In Vajrayana Buddhism, monks like the Dalai Lama wear maroon robes. In the Philippines, Catholic devotees wear maroon and golden yellow during the Black Nazarene procession on January 9. The color also appears on several national flags. The flag of Qatar uses maroon and white. The flag of Sri Lanka features maroon alongside gold, teal, and orange. Even the flag of Latvia has used maroon and white in the past.

Many organizations use maroon to build a sense of identity and pride. In 1923, the Hankyu Railway in Japan chose maroon as its signature color through a vote by women customers. In the military, the maroon beret is a famous symbol. Many airborne forces wear it, including the British Parachute Regiment, which has used the color since 1942. The regiment is even nicknamed the "Maroon Machine." Historically, the Portuguese Army also used maroon to identify its Caçadores, or rifle, regiments.

Educational institutions and sports teams frequently adopt maroon as an official color. Many universities use maroon in various combinations, such as maroon and white, maroon and gold, or maroon and blue. For example, Fordham University and Texas A&M use maroon and white. The University of Minnesota and Boston College use maroon and gold. Because of this, many teams carry the nickname "Maroons." The University of Chicago Maroons have used this name since a vote on May 5, 1894. The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons have used the name since the 1930s.

Maroon also appears in specific commercial products and games. Since 1958, Crayola has produced a maroon crayon that is a bright shade between brown and rose. In 1990, they introduced "mystic maroon," which is a metallic color from the Silver Swirls set. You can also find the color in sports and games. In pool, the 7 and 15 billiard balls are traditionally maroon. In North American thoroughbred horse racing, the horse numbered 14 uses a maroon saddle cloth with a yellow number.

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