kermes Hear it!

kermes definition

ker·mes (kʉr′mēz′)

noun

  1. the dried bodies of the females of certain soft scale insects (genus Kermes), used for making a purple-red dye
  2. this dye
  3. a small, evergreen Mediterranean oak (Quercus coccifera) on which the kermes insects are found
    also kermes oak

Etymology: Fr kermès < Ar & Pers qirmiz: see carmine

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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