The colour is named after the orange fruit, introduced to English via the Spanish word naranja which came from the Sanskrit word नारङ्ग (nāraṅga). Before this was introduced to the English-speaking world, the colour was referred to (in Old English) as geoluhread, which translates into Modern English as yellow-red.
The first recorded use of orange as a colour name in English was in 1512, in the court of King Henry VIII.
Displayed at right is the actual colour of the outer skin of a usual orange. This colour is called orange peel. It is the same colour as the fruit for which it was named.
A discussion of the difference between the colour orange (the colour halfway between red and yellow, i.e. , colour wheel orange [Colour#FF7F00], shown at the top of this article) and the colour orange peel (the actual colour of the outer skin of an orange), may be found in Maerz and Paul.
The first recorded use of orange peel as a colour name in English was in 1839.
Orange is the national colour of the Netherlands, because its royal family of Orange-Nassau used to own the principality of Orange (the title is still used for the Dutch heir apparent). There is no etymological connection between orange (the fruit and colour) and Orange (the name of the principality), and the similarity is fortuitous. (See the page on Orange (word) for more information.) In modern Dutch society however, the Dutch word oranje, 'orange' is often associated with the reigning royal house of the Netherlands. Oranjezonnetje ('Orange Sun') designates good weather on the Queen's birthday, April 30. Orange is the colour of choice for many of the national sports teams and their supporters. The nickname of the Dutch national football team is Oranje, the Dutch word for orange. Oranjegekte ('Orange Craze') signifies the inclination of many Dutchmen to dress up in orange colours during soccer matches. In the modern flag of the Netherlands, red substitutes the original orange, but on birthdays, the flag has an additional orange banner. Most geographical usages of the word orange can be traced back to Dutch maritime power in the 17th century.
In the sport of baseball many foul poles are orange.
Orange can also be associated with colleges. Among notable colleges with orange as a colour include the University of Texas (colours burnt orange and white) and Syracuse University (who's mascot is the Orange).
Linguistically
Orange is often quoted (along with Purple and Silver) as a word that doesn't rhyme with any other word in the English language. This is debatable - see Orange (word)#Rhyme. However, the Oxford Rhyming Dictionary does show both these words as having half-rhymes (such as lozenge with orange and salver with silver).
In Christina Rossetti's poem What is Pink? there are these lines:
Orange is the national colour of the Netherlands, referring to the royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau. Orange was seen on its original flag (until the middle of the 17th century) and nowadays a pennant may be attached to the red, white and blue national flag. (See above at: Geography and history)
Orange was the rallying colour of the 2004 – 2005 Orange Revolution in Ukraine and has thus become a colour symbolising opposition to tyranny around the world.
Orange in general represents Hinduism. Hindu swamis traditionally wear orange robes. The significance of orange as the colour for Hindu swamis is commonly thought to be connected to the idea that orange symbolizes fire. Renunciates' fiery ochre robes display outwardly the inner transformation that is happening - the burning of ego, their former selves, and their personal wants. Also, the saffron stripe in the Indian flag signifies courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation. Hindu and Sikh flags atop mandirs and gurdwaras, respectively, are typically a saffron coloured pennant. Orange is also used to denote hinduism in the flag of Sri Lanka.
Orange is used to symbolically represent the second (Swadhisthana) chakra.
Psychics who claim to be able to observe the aura with their third eye report that an orange aura is associated with intellectual ambition or stubbornness.
In the metaphysics of the New Age Prophetess, Alice A. Bailey, in her system called the Seven Rays which classifies humans into seven different metaphysical psychological types, the fifth ray of concrete science is represented by the colour orange. People who have this metaphysical psychological type are said to be on the Orange Ray.
In English heraldry, orange is considered synonymous with the tincturetenne. However, its use as a heraldic tincture is relatively rare, as it is considered a "stain" (a deprecated tincture) by some. In continental heraldry, tenne is more often deemed to denote a burnt orange colour.
The colours orange and black represent the holidayHalloween (31 October) because orange is the colour of pumpkins and black is the colour of night and is associated with doom, despair and darkness.
The colours orange and brown represent the United States holiday Thanksgiving.
Orange is the contrasting colour of blue and is highly visible against a clear sky. Therefore, shades of orange such as safety orange are often used in high visibility clothing and other safety equipment and objects.
Due to its brightness, orange is used in the construction industry on road signs and safety jackets to warn passers-by of the pending dangers ahead.
^Paterson, Ian (2003), A Dictionary of Colour (1st paperback ed.), London: Thorogood (published 2004), p. 280, ISBN1854183753, OCLC 60411025
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 200
^ ab"W3C TR CSS3 Color Module, HTML4 color keywords". W3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-color/. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930--McGraw-Hill--Discussion of color Orange, Page 170
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 200; Colour Sample: Orange Peel Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample L10.
^"Visual Guidelines - Graphics - Colors". University of Texas at Austin. 2007-06-06. http://www.utexas.edu/visualguidelines/vg_colors.html. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930--McGraw-Hill Page 191 ; Color sample of Burnt Orange: Page 29 Plate 3 Color Sample E12
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 191
^ Sullivan. The Academic Costume Code, Hoods;Linings