Olive (color)

File:NCI 2 green olives.jpg

Green olives

Olive is a dark yellowish-green color,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> like that of unripe or green olives.

As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English.

Variations

Olivine

Olivine is the typical color of the mineral olivine.

Olivine crystals

Olivine crystals

The first recorded use of olivine as a color name in English was in 1912.<ref>Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930—McGraw-Hill Page 200; Color Sample of Olivine: Page 59, Plate 18, Color Sample C6</ref>

Olive drab

Template:Redirect Template:Infobox color Template:Infobox color Olive drab is variously described as a "A brownish-green colour" (Oxford English Dictionary);<ref name="auto">"Olive Drab, N." Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, July 2023.</ref> "a shade of greenish-brown" (Webster's New World Dictionary);<ref>Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language</ref> "a dark gray-green" (MacMillan English dictionary); "a grayish olive to dark olive brown or olive gray" (American Heritage Dictionary);<ref>American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language, 4th edition.</ref> or "A dull but fairly strong gray-green color" (Collins English Dictionary). It is widely used as a camouflage color for uniforms and equipment in the armed forces.

The first recorded use of olive drab as a color name in English was in 1892.<ref>Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill Page 200; Color Sample of Olive Drab: Page 53 Plate 15 Color Sample J5</ref> Drab is an older color name, from the middle of the 16th century. It refers to a dull light brown color, the color of cloth made from undyed homespun wool. It took its name from the old French word for cloth, drap.<ref>"Drab, N. (2), Adj., & N." Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, December 2023.</ref>

There are many shades and variations of olive drab. Various shades were used on United States Army uniforms in World War II. The shade used for enlisted soldier's uniforms at the beginning of the war was called Olive Drab #33 (OD33). Officer's uniforms used the much darker Olive Drab #51 (OD51). Field equipment was in Olive Drab #3 (OD3), a very light, almost khaki shade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1943, new field uniforms and equipment were produced in the darker Olive Drab #7 (OD7). In 1952, this was replaced by the slightly grayer Olive Green 107 (OG-107),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which continued as the color of combat uniforms through the Vietnam War until the adoption in 1981 of the four-color-camouflage-patterned M81 Battle Dress Uniform, which retained olive drab as one of the color swatches in the pattern. The shade used for painting vehicles is defined by Federal Standard 595 in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As a solid color, it is not as effective for camouflage as multi-color patterns, though it is still used by the U.S. military to color webbing and accessories. The armies of Israel, India, Cuba, and Venezuela wear solid-color olive drab uniforms.

In the American novel A Separate Peace, Finny says to Gene, "...and in these times of war, we all see olive drab, and we all know it is the patriotic color. All others aren't about the war; they aren't patriotic."

Pantone 448 C, "the ugliest color in the world" commonly used in plain tobacco packaging, was initially described as a shade of olive green.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• An olive drab M-1943 field jacket, worn by US soldiers during World War II and the Korean War.
  An olive drab M-1943 field jacket, worn by US soldiers during World War II and the Korean War.
• Olive drab is the uniform color of the Israel Army.
  Olive drab is the uniform color of the Israel Army.
• Cuban soldiers in olive drab.
  Cuban soldiers in olive drab.
• An M1 helmet, the standard helmet of the U.S. Army from 1941 through the Vietnam War. This helmet is from the Vietnam War; the color is olive green 107.
  An M1 helmet, the standard helmet of the U.S. Army from 1941 through the Vietnam War. This helmet is from the Vietnam War; the color is olive green 107.

Black olive

File:Olives in bowl.jpg

An example of black olives

Black olive is a color in the RAL color matching system. It is designated as RAL 6015.

The color "black olive" is a representation of the color of black olives.

Olive in culture

Ethnography

• The term "olive-skinned" is sometimes used to denote shades of medium-toned skin that is darker than the average color for White people, especially in connection with a Mediterranean ethnicity.

See also

• List of colors
• Khaki, another color common in military uniforms
• Sage, a color visually similar to olive green