/ˌʌltrəməˈriːn/·noun / adjective·1598 CE (English); Medieval Latin ultramarinus attested c. 13th–14th century·Established
Origin
From the lapis lazuli mines of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, the deep blue pigment travelled overland and by sea to medieval Europe, where traders named it ultramarinus — 'from beyond the sea' — combining Latin ultra (PIE *al-/'beyond') and mare (PIE *mori-/'sea'); once worth more than gold and reserved for the Virgin Mary's robes, the word survived long after Jean-Baptiste Guimet's 1826 synthetic process severed the colour from the voyage that named it.
Definition
A brilliant deep-blue pigment originally made from powdered lapis lazuli imported from beyond the sea (Afghanistan), and by extension the vivid blue colour it produces.
The Full Story
Medieval Latin / Old French14th century CEwell-attested
'Ultramarine' derives from Medieval Latin ultramarinus, literally 'beyond thesea' (ultra- 'beyond' + marinus 'of the sea'). The term originated as a geographical descriptor, not a colour term. Italian merchantstrading through Venice coined it to describe lapis lazuli pigment transported overland and by sea from the mines at Sar-i-Sang in Badakhshan, northeastern Afghanistan — a journey covering thousands of miles across Persia and the Arab world before reaching European ports. The earliest written attestation of the Latin form dates to around the 13th–14th century
Did you know?
Ultramarine was so expensive in medieval Europe that painters were contractually obligated to use it — guild commissions specified not just that the Virgin Mary's robes be blue, but that they be painted with genuine lapis ultramarine rather than cheaper substitutes. Vermeer used so much of it that art historians believe it contributed to his financial ruin; his estate was insolvent at his death in 1675, and inventories suggest he bought the pigment on credit. The colour that now covers walls and cheap textiles
stone itself, lāzaward). The pigment, ground from lapis lazuli, was so precious that it rivalled gold in price during the 14th–15th centuries and was conventionally reserved for the Virgin Mary's robes in panel painting and manuscript illumination. The prefix ultra- traces to Latin ultra 'beyond, on the farther side', from a suffixed form of PIE *h2el- / *al- 'beyond, other'. This root is extremely productive: it yields Latin alius 'another', alter 'the other of two', alienus 'foreign', as well as Greek allos 'other' (source of 'parallel', 'else'), Gothic aljis, and Old English elles (modern 'else'). The second element, marinus, derives from Latin mare 'sea', from PIE *mori- 'body of water, sea', cognate with Old English mere 'lake, sea' (surviving in place-names), Old Irish muir, Welsh môr, Lithuanian marios, Russian more, and German Meer. The colour name thus encodes a complete history of medieval trade: a stone from the Hindu Kush, carried across continents, arriving at Italian ports, named for its impossible distance — a geography fossilised in a pigment word. Key roots: *h2el- (Proto-Indo-European: "beyond, other, on the far side — also the base of words meaning 'other' across the Indo-European family: Latin alius, Greek allos, Gothic aljis, Old English elles"), *mori- (Proto-Indo-European: "body of water, sea — yields Latin mare, Old English mere, Welsh môr, Old Irish muir, German Meer, Russian more"), ultra- (Latin: "beyond, on the other side, past — productive prefix in compounds; from suffixed *al- with directional extension").