WHAT: Puce. Chartreuse. Gamboge. Mauve. Have you ever wondered exactly what colors these are, and if it matters to people other than designers or artists?

We came across a reference in a book to a gown in the color puce, and could not remember what color that would be. From the word, we were imagining some sickly green color. However, it is not; it’s a dark red or purple-brown color.

The term comes from the French couleur puce, literally meaning “flea color.”

But fleas are brown.

The term actually refers to the color left after a flea has been smashed. Sounds lovely.

Another odd color name — chartreuse  — is also from the French. It is a yellow-green color that falls between yellow and green on the color wheel. It’s named after the French liqueur, Green Chartreuse, a green-yellow herbal liqueur.

And what of the color gamboge? It’s a bright, golden yellow with a slight orangey undertone, named after a natural pigment derived from the resin of a Garcinia tree.

Mauve is perhaps more commonly known. It is a pale purple color, often described as a light, bluish purple. The word comes from the French word “malva,” which refers to the mallow flower.

Some other odd colors include falu, a specific shade of red-brown; aureolin, a vibrant yellow color; coquelicot, French for poppy, referring to a vivid red color; glaucous, a grayish-blue or greenish-blue color; heliotrope, a pale purple or violet color.

Smaragdine refers to something that is emerald-green in color. Vermilion is a bright red, and is the actual color of the paint on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Xanadu is a gray-lime color; zaffre, a dark blue color, often described as a shade of sapphire; and eburnean, an ivory-white.