Citrine /ˈsɪtriːn/ is a color whose most common reference is some colored varieties of quartz that have a medium-dark shade of golden yellow. Citrine has always been classified as yellow, greenish-yellow, brownish-yellow, or orange. The original reference point for the citrine color was the lemon fruit. The first recorded use of citrine as a color in English was in 1386. It was taken from a medieval Latin and a classical Latin word of the same meaning. In late medieval and early modern English, the color name citrine was used in a wider variety of contexts than today and could mean “reddish or brownish yellow, orange or amber (as distinct from yellow).” In contemporary English, citrine as a color is mostly confined to the context of (1) gemstones, including quartz, and (2) some animal and plant names. For example, the citrine wagtail (Motacilla citreola), a species of Asian bird with golden plumage, or the citrine warbler, the canary citrine flycatcher, the citrine swallow, etc.
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