Words at Play : Top 10 Words for Unusual Colors Worth Looking At
Color:
Dark red
About the Word:
Puce entered English from French, where puce translates as "flea."
The relationship between the flea and the color is complicated (and over the centuries has involved "flea" as a sexual metaphor) but almost certainly one connection is the flea's hunger for blood.
Full Definition:
: a dark red that is yellower and less strong than cranberry, paler and slightly yellower than average garnet, bluer, less strong, and slightly lighter than pomegranate, and bluer and paler than average wine