primary color

primary color

n.

A color belonging to any of three groups each of which is regarded as generating all colors, with the groups being:

a. Additive, physiological, or light primaries red, green, and blue. Lights of red, green, and blue wavelengths may be mixed to produce all colors.

b. Subtractive or colorant primaries magenta, yellow, and cyan. Substances that reflect light of one of these wavelengths and absorb other wavelengths may be mixed to produce all colors.

c. Psychological primaries red, yellow, green, and blue, plus the achromatic pair black and white. All colors may be subjectively conceived as mixtures of these. See Table at color.

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primary color

Any of a group of colors from which all other colors can be made by mixing. See more at additivesubtractive See Note at color.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

primary color - any of three colors from which all others can be obtained by mixing primary colour color, coloring, colouring, colour - a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect; "a white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light" primary color for pigments, primary colour for pigments - any of three pigments from which all colors can be obtained by mixing; "the primary colors for pigments are red, blue, and yellow" primary color for light, primary colour for light - any of three primary colors of light from which all colors can be obtained by additive mixing; "the primary colors for light are red, blue, and green"