Definition of "carmine" in English

noun

1. A purplish-red pigment, made from dye obtained from the cochineal beetle; carminic acid or any of its derivatives.

   • 1967, Time, "The Case of the Dubious Dye," 6 January, 1967, https://web.archive.org/web/20130721101257/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843172,00.html Cases of cubana salmonellosis in three other states were traced to carmine red, and supplies were called in. […] But authorities have been checking other places for carmine red, knowing that it is a favorite coloring in candy, chewing gum, ice cream, cough syrups and drugs. Manufacturers like to use it because of a legal quirk: being a natural rather than a synthetic product, it does not have to be mentioned on labels.

2. A purplish-red colour, resembling that pigment.

adjective

1. Of the purplish red colour shade carmine.