I am looking into the etymology
of the color "pink".
Online Dictionary gives the
following puzzling definitions:
"1- pink (n., adj.)
1570s, common name of Dianthus, a garden plant of various colors. Attribution to
'pale rose color' first recorded 1733 (pink-coloured is recorded from
1681).
2- pink (v.) c.1300, "pierce, stab, make holes in," perhaps from a
Romanic stem *pinc- (cf. Fr. piquer, Sp. picar), from L. pungere "to pierce,
prick" (see pungent). Surviving mainly in pinking shears."
Any logical explanation for the
connection between the sense of "pierce, stab, make holes in,"
and the color "pink"?
Thanks in advance for your
input.
Ishinan