n. 1. A strong to vivid red or reddish orange. 2. Scarlet-colored clothing or cloth. adj. 1. Of a strong to vivid red or reddish orange. 2. Flagrantly immoral or unchaste: scarlet thoughts. [Middle English, scarlet cloth, scarlet, from Old French escarlate, from Medieval Latin scarlata, scarlet cloth, from Persian saqirlāt, rich cloth, scarlet cloth, variant of siqillāt, from Arabic, perhaps from Medieval Greek *sigillatos, from Latin sigillātus, decorated with raised figures, from sigilla, little figures, pl. of sigillum, sigil; see SIGIL.] |
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