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cel·a·don

(sĕlə-dŏn′)

1. A pale to very pale green.

2. A type of pottery having a pale green glaze, originally produced in China.

[French, after Céladon, the central male character of L'Astrée, a widely read pastoral novel by Honoré d'Urfé (1568-1625), French writer (the character being associated with the color green in the popular imagination and probably dressed in a pale green costume in early theatrical adaptations, perhaps because of the association of the color green with amorous adventures), after Celadōn, a warrior briefly mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses.]

cela·don′ adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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