'Crimson' traces from Sanskrit 'krmi' (worm) to Arabic 'qirmiz' — a colour named after an insect.
A rich deep red colour inclining to purple.
From Old Spanish 'cremesín,' from Arabic 'qirmizī' (of or relating to the kermes insect), from 'qirmiz' (kermes), from Sanskrit 'kṛmi-ja' (produced by a worm), from 'kṛmi' (worm, insect). The kermes insect (Kermes vermilio) was the source of a brilliant red dye extracted from the dried bodies of female scale insects found on Mediterranean oak trees. The word thus traces a trade route: the dye was known in India, processed in the Arab world, traded
The word 'crimson' and the word 'carmine' (another red pigment) both derive from the same Arabic root 'qirmiz' (kermes insect). The kermes dye was so valuable in the medieval world that it was literally worth its weight in gold. When the Spanish conquistadors discovered the New World cochineal insect — which