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What color doesn’t have an e in it?

By: Author Color With Leo

Colors are an important part of our lives. We see them all around us every day. But have you ever stopped to think about which colors don’t contain the letter “e” in their names? In this article, we’ll take a look at common colors and identify which ones meet this interesting criteria.

Primary Colors

Let’s start with the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The words “red” and “blue” both contain the letter “e”, but “yellow” does not. So yellow is our first color that doesn’t have an “e” in it.

Secondary Colors

When you mix primary colors together, you get secondary colors. By mixing red and yellow, you get orange. Since neither “red” nor “yellow” have an “e”, “orange” also does not have an “e”. Now let’s look at green. Green is made by mixing yellow and blue. While “blue” has an “e”, “yellow” and “green” do not. Finally, mixing red and blue makes purple. Since “red” has an “e”, so does “purple”. The score so far:

Color Has “e”?
Yellow No
Orange No
Green No
Purple Yes

Tertiary Colors

By mixing primary and secondary colors, we get tertiary colors. Let’s go through them one by one:

  • Red-orange – Since “red” contains “e”, red-orange also does.
  • Yellow-orange – Neither “yellow” nor “orange” have an “e”.
  • Yellow-green – Like yellow and green, this color has no “e”.
  • Blue-green – While “blue” has an “e”, “green” does not. So blue-green contains an “e”.
  • Blue-purple – Both “blue” and “purple” contain “e”.
  • Red-purple – Same logic, this also has an “e”.

Let’s update our table:

Color Has “e”?
Yellow No
Orange No
Green No
Yellow-orange No
Yellow-green No
Purple Yes
Red-orange Yes
Blue-green Yes
Blue-purple Yes
Red-purple Yes

Common Color Names

Beyond basic color theory, there are many common color names we use. Here are some examples along with whether they contain “e”:

  • White – No “e”
  • Black – No “e”
  • Gray – No “e”
  • Brown – No “e”
  • Pink – No “e”
  • Magenta – No “e”
  • Maroon – No “e”
  • Navy – No “e”
  • Aqua – No “e”
  • Lime – No “e”
  • Teal – No “e”
  • Olive – No “e”
  • Cyan – No “e”
  • Mauve – No “e”
  • Taupe – No “e”
  • Jade – No “e”
  • Azure – Contains “e”
  • Violet – Contains “e”
  • Rose – Contains “e”
  • Lavender – Contains “e”
  • Amber – Contains “e”
  • Vermilion – Contains “e”
  • Scarlet – Contains “e”
  • Crimson – Contains “e”
  • Carmine – Contains “e”
  • Indigo – Contains “e”
  • Burgundy – Contains “e”

Let’s add these to our table:

Color Has “e”?
Yellow No
Orange No
Green No
Yellow-orange No
Yellow-green No
White No
Black No
Gray No
Brown No
Pink No
Magenta No
Maroon No
Navy No
Aqua No
Lime No
Teal No
Olive No
Cyan No
Mauve No
Taupe No
Jade No
Purple Yes
Red-orange Yes
Blue-green Yes
Blue-purple Yes
Red-purple Yes
Azure Yes
Violet Yes
Rose Yes
Lavender Yes
Amber Yes
Vermilion Yes
Scarlet Yes
Crimson Yes
Carmine Yes
Indigo Yes
Burgundy Yes

Obscure Color Names

There are many obscure and less common color names to explore as well. Here are some interesting examples:

  • Blizzard Blue – No “e”
  • Buff – No “e”
  • Burnt Sienna – No “e”
  • Cerulean – No “e”
  • Chartreuse – No “e”
  • Cinna-mint – No “e”
  • Coquelicot – No “e”
  • Ecru – Contains “e”
  • Fallow – No “e”
  • Fandango – No “e”
  • Fulvous – No “e”
  • Gambog-e – Contains “e”
  • Glaucous – No “e”
  • Inchworm – No “e”
  • Iris – No “e”
  • Jet – No “e”
  • Kobicha – No “e”
  • Loden – No “e”
  • Mikado – No “e”
  • Ochre – No “e”
  • Phlox – No “e”
  • Quagga – No “e”
  • Raw umber – No “e”
  • Sap green – No “e”
  • Terra cotta – No “e”
  • Verdigris – No “e”
  • Wisteria – No “e”
  • Xanthic – No “e”
  • Yarrow – No “e”
  • Zomp – No “e”

Adding these interesting finds to our table:

Color Has “e”?
Yellow No
Orange No
Green No
Yellow-orange No
Yellow-green No
White No
Black No
Gray No
Brown No
Pink No
Magenta No
Maroon No
Navy No
Aqua No
Lime No
Teal No
Olive No
Cyan No
Mauve No
Taupe No
Jade No
Blizzard Blue No
Buff No
Burnt Sienna No
Cerulean No
Chartreuse No
Cinna-mint No
Coquelicot No
Fallow No
Fandango No
Fulvous No
Glaucous No
Inchworm No
Iris No
Jet No
Kobicha No
Loden No
Mikado No
Ochre No
Phlox No
Quagga No
Raw umber No
Sap green No
Terra cotta No
Verdigris No
Wisteria No
Xanthic No
Yarrow No
Zomp No
Purple Yes
Red-orange Yes
Blue-green Yes
Blue-purple Yes
Red-purple Yes
Azure Yes
Violet Yes
Rose Yes
Lavender Yes
Amber Yes
Vermilion Yes
Scarlet Yes
Crimson Yes
Carmine Yes
Indigo Yes
Burgundy Yes