Aqua Is Latin for Water and Also a Colour
Aqua means water, and names a blue-green colour. The Latin word appears throughout English in compounds.
Aqua is Latin for water, used in English as a colour name for a light blue-green. The colour is named from the sea rather than from fresh water, and shortened from *aquamarine* — the gemstone whose Latin name means sea water. So aqua the colour is water twice over. The word appears throughout English: *aquarium*, *aqueduct*, *aquatic*, *aquifer* and *aqua vitae*, water of life, which is the ancestor of *whisky* through Gaelic *uisge beatha*.
- Water (Latin). *Aqua.*
- A blue-green colour. *Aqua paint.*
- Aquamarine — the gemstone. *Aquamarine.*
- Aqua vitae — water of life. *Aqua vitae.*
- Latin — *aqua*, water. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | aqua | Aqua. |
| Adjective | aqua | Aqua blue. |
| Related | aquatic | Aquatic. |
| Related | aquarium | An aquarium. |
| Latin | aqua | Water. |
- The walls are painted aqua.Colour.
- Aquamarine means sea water.Gemstone.
- Aqua vitae gave whisky its name.History.
The aqua family
- Aquarium — a place for water creatures
- Aqueduct — a channel leading water
- Aquifer — rock that bears water
- Aqua vitae — water of life, distilled spirit
- Whisky — from Gaelic *uisge beatha*, the same phrase translated
Latin *aqua*, water. The colour sense is shortened from *aquamarine*, from *aqua marina*, sea water.
Why is the colour called aqua?
It is shortened from aquamarine, the gemstone whose name means sea water, so it is named for the colour of the sea.
Is whisky related to aqua vitae?
Yes, by translation. Gaelic uisge beatha means water of life, the same phrase as Latin aqua vitae, and whisky is worn down from uisge.