Teal is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the
Eurasian teal (Anas crecca)—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used colloquially to refer to
shades of cyan in general.
It can be created by mixing cyan into a green base, or deepened as needed with black or gray.[2] It is also one of the first group of 16 HTML/CSS
web colors. In the RGB model used to create colors on computer screens and televisions, teal is created by reducing the brightness of cyan to about one half.
In
North America, teal was a
fad color during the 1990s, with, among others, many sports teams adopting the color for their uniforms.[3][4]
Etymology
The first recorded use of teal as a color name in English was in 1917.[5] The term teal (referring to a sort of duck) is derived from the Middle English tele, a word akin to the Dutch taling and the Middle Low German telink.[6]
Teal blue is a medium tone of teal with more blue. The first recorded use of teal blue as a color name in English was in 1927.[5]: p. 101, plate 39, color sample L6
The source of this color is the Plochere Color System, a color system formulated in 1948 that is widely used by
interior designers. Teal was subsequently a heavily used color in the 1950s and 1960s.[8]
Teal blue is also the name of a
Crayola crayon color (color #113) from 1990 to 2003.
Teal green is a darker shade of teal with more green. It is a variable color averaging a dark bluish-green that is green, darker, and stronger than invisible green or pine tree.[9]
Teal green is most closely related to the
Crayola crayon color Deep Space Sparkle.
TEAL is the acronym for
Tasman Empire Airways Limited, the forerunner of
Air New Zealand, who used teal as their airline's signature color; it appeared not just on plane livery but promotional material and airline bags. When New Zealanders refer to ‘teal green,’ they are more likely referring to the airline color than the bird's color.
Rapid transit
Teal is the official color of
Kochi Metro, the rapid transit system serving the city of
Kochi in India.
Flags
The
flag of Hungary contains a greenish-teal horizontal stripe.
Armies that used
feldgrau,
cadet grey and similar shades of greyish green for field uniforms in the late 19th and early 20th century commonly used more saturated colour for officers, often tending on teal. The armed forces of the
Netherlands used teal field uniforms up to
the 2nd World War.[13] Some of the modern parade uniforms of the
Russian Armed Forces are also teal, though named "wave-green" in the service.[14]
In the
National Hockey League, the
San Jose Sharks use a variation called Deep Pacific Teal as their primary color. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim used a variation of teal known as Jade as a primary color until 2006 when the team was rebranded to the
Anaheim Ducks. The color is still used today on the team's alternate uniform.
The
Penrith Panthers of the NRL used in the early 2000s teal as a secondary color.
In Our Flag Means Death, when asked their favourite colour, the character Jim Jimenez replies “teal”.
Characters in the South Korean television series
Squid Game wear teal tracksuits as their game uniform.[17]
Religion
The
Hermit Intercessors of the Lamb, a Christian contemplation group in the state of
Nebraska, wears habits with a teal
scapular to symbolize intercession between heaven (blue) and earth. Originally organised as a
Roman Catholic association, it was suppressed in 2010 by the Archbishop of Omaha, who directed members to cease wearing the scapular in Church activities.
Green pigments for paints and fabric dyes were difficult to obtain from nature in the past, thus they were rarely employed in clothes or heraldic emblems. While green may have been blended with blue and yellow paints, mixing dissimilar substances was frowned upon due to suspicion of alchemy. Only during the early Renaissance did the superstitious custom fade away, and in the late eighteenth century, the German Swedish scientist
Carl Wilhelm Scheele found new copper greens.[20]
Teal is the color of
ovarian cancerawareness. Ovarian cancer survivors and supporters may wear teal ribbons, bracelets, T-shirts, and hats to bring public attention to the disease.[21][22]
^
ab
Maerz, Aloys John; Paul, M. Rea (1930). A Dictionary of Color. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pp. 205 (text), 101 (teal color sample). Plate 39 color sample L7 (on p. 101).