Teal
Teal is a dark greenish-blue color.[1][2] The name derives from the Eurasian teal (Anas crecca), a small dabbling duck whose eye patch and wing speculum display iridescent feathers in a comparable hue.[3][4] In digital representations, teal is commonly assigned the hexadecimal code #008080.[3] This versatile shade evokes calmness due to its combination of blue's stability and green's renewal, finding applications in design, fashion, and national symbols such as the flag of Sri Lanka.[5][6] Teal ducks themselves, belonging to the genus Anas, are widespread small freshwater birds known for their rapid flight and gregarious flocks outside breeding season.[7][4]Definition and Etymology
Core Definition
Teal is a medium-dark shade of cyan, characterized as a blue-green hue in the visible spectrum. In digital color systems, it is commonly represented by the hexadecimal code #008080, equivalent to RGB values (0, 128, 128), where red is absent and green and blue components are equal at approximately 50% intensity.[8][9] This formulation yields a hue angle of 180° in the HSL color space, positioning teal precisely midway between primary blue and green on the additive color wheel.[9] The spectral characteristics of teal approximate those of cyan, with a dominant wavelength in the range of 490-520 nanometers, corresponding to the cyan portion of the visible spectrum between blue (450-495 nm) and green (520-565 nm). In empirical color matching systems, such as Pantone, teal is standardized as shades like 17-4919 TCX, which emphasize a balanced blue-green without significant red or yellow undertones.[10] Teal differs from turquoise, which is brighter and more blue-dominant (e.g., hex #40E0D0 with higher lightness), and from sea green, which incorporates a yellower or more olive tint (e.g., hex #2E8B57).[11] These distinctions are verifiable through chromaticity coordinates in systems like CIE 1931, where teal's coordinates cluster near equal blue-green stimulation, avoiding the higher purity of turquoise or the green-yellow shift in sea green.[11][12]Etymological Origins
The term "teal" originally referred to a small species of freshwater duck, the Eurasian teal (Anas crecca), with the word entering Middle English as "tele" around 1300, likely derived from an unrecorded Old English *tǣle or a West Germanic root akin to Middle Dutch teling.[13] Male Eurasian teals exhibit an iridescent greenish-blue patch on their wings and a green eye stripe, features that inspired the later color designation.[14] The bird name predates any color usage by centuries, with no verified etymological link to Old French "tel" or "taille" for dyes or fabrics in primary linguistic sources.[13] As a color name, "teal" denoting a blue-green hue first appeared in English in 1917, directly referencing the duck's plumage rather than independent textile or dye traditions.[15] This usage gained traction by 1923 in American clothing advertisements describing fabrics matching the bird's wing and eye colors.[13] Earlier 19th-century records of similar shades in paints or dyes do not employ "teal" specifically, confirming the avian origin as the primary linguistic pathway without conflation to pre-20th-century industrial contexts.[14]Physical and Scientific Properties
Spectral and Optical Characteristics
Teal materials reflect light predominantly in the blue-green region of the visible spectrum, with peak reflectance around 500 nanometers, corresponding to the dominant wavelength for cyan-like hues that encompass teal. Spectrophotometric analysis reveals that such reflection results from selective absorption of longer wavelengths, particularly in the yellow-to-red range (approximately 570-700 nanometers), minimizing transmission of warmer tones while enhancing the perceived cool, cyanic quality.[16][17] Unlike primary spectral colors, teal does not correspond to a single natural pigment but emerges from subtractive color mixing, where blue pigments (e.g., those derived from cobalt aluminate) and green pigments (e.g., copper-based compounds like Paris green or phthalocyanine derivatives) combine to filter incident light, attenuating complementary wavelengths and yielding the characteristic hue. This process aligns with subtractive models, where overlapping absorption spectra reduce overall light intensity and shift the resultant spectrum toward blue-green dominance.[18][19] Optical properties such as opacity and saturation depend on the medium and formulation; pure, high-purity teal exhibits strong chroma due to narrow-band reflectance, but admixtures with white or black diluents decrease saturation, as quantified in standards like the CIE 1931 color space, where teal occupies the cyan locus with moderate luminance (Y ≈ 0.5 for mid-tone variants) and chromaticity coordinates enabling high perceptual uniformity in tristimulus values.[20][16]Representations in Pigments and Digital Media
In digital media, teal is standardized in the sRGB color space primarily by the hexadecimal code #008080, equivalent to RGB values (0, 128, 128), which renders a balanced cyan hue at 50% brightness for green and blue channels with no red component.[21] [22] This encoding ensures reproducibility in web and graphical applications adhering to web-safe palettes, though variants like #00FF7F—shifting toward a brighter, more verdant spring teal—appear in extended palettes for enhanced vibrancy in UI design.[23] For pigment-based printing in the CMYK model, teal approximations target 100% cyan, 0% magenta, 0% yellow, and 50% black to closely mimic the digital #008080 on offset presses, accounting for ink absorption and substrate effects that dull pure cyan.[23] [24] Pantone provides proprietary matches for consistency across industries, such as 17-5024 TCX (Teal Blue) for textiles and packaging, which aligns with CMYK builds yielding a deeper, more saturated tone suitable for physical reproduction.[25] Reproducing teal faithfully across pigments and digital systems faces challenges from device-specific color gamuts and calibration variances; for instance, consumer LCD screens often exhibit 5-10% deviations in cyan reproduction due to backlight inconsistencies and unprofiled color spaces, as measured in comparative display tests.[26] Empirical evaluations of sRGB versus CMYK conversions for teal hues reveal perceptual shifts in saturation and hue angle, exacerbated by monitor phosphors favoring warmer tones, necessitating ICC profiles for cross-media workflows to minimize delta E errors exceeding 3 units.[27]Color Variations and Shades
Teal Blue
Teal blue represents a variant of the teal color family with a pronounced blue dominance, typically exhibiting a hue angle between 180° and 200° in the HSL color model, which shifts it toward cyan-blue tones rather than balanced cyan-green.[28] This positioning results in a visual appearance more akin to deep cyan with subdued green undertones, as seen in the common hexadecimal representation #367588, corresponding to RGB values (54, 117, 136), HSL (194°, 43% saturation, 37% lightness), and CMYK (60%, 14%, 0%, 47%).[29] [30] In contrast to standard teal (#008080 at exactly 180° hue with equal red-zeroed blue and green components), teal blue's higher hue value reduces relative green influence, yielding a delta E color difference of approximately 40-50 units from pure teal under CIEDE2000 metrics, far exceeding the human-perceptible threshold of 1-2 units for noticeable distinction.[31] [32] This shade's depth and cool tonality make it suitable for applications evoking marine or atmospheric expanses, where its muted saturation provides a sense of receding distance without overwhelming vibrancy.[33] In digital and print design, teal blue is employed in palettes for coastal or oceanic themes, pairing effectively with neutrals to simulate water depths or sky gradients, as its lower lightness (around 37%) enhances perceived stability compared to brighter cyans.[34] Historical pigment approximations, such as cobalt teal formulations from the early 20th century, align closely with this profile, though modern usage prioritizes its role in creating serene, professional aesthetics in branding and interfaces rather than exact historical matches.[35] Differentiated from greener teals by quantifiable spectral shifts—verifiable via tools like spectrophotometry showing peak reflectance skewed toward 450-480 nm wavelengths—teal blue avoids the yellowish undertones of variants below 180° hue, ensuring precision in color-critical fields like environmental simulation.[36]Teal Green
Teal green denotes a variant of the teal color family leaning toward greater green saturation, typically featuring hue angles in the HSL model between approximately 160° and 180°, which shifts the visual balance away from cyan dominance toward emerald-like tones. For instance, the hex code #006D5B represents a common approximation, with RGB values of (0, 109, 91) yielding a hue of 170.1°, full saturation, and low lightness of 21.4%, producing a deep, foliage-evoking shade.[37] This contrasts with standard teal (#008080 at 180° hue), emphasizing green over blue components for a more verdant appearance akin to aged copper patinas.[38] Historically, teal green shades approximate the appearance of verdigris, a copper acetate pigment formed through the oxidation of copper plates in acetic environments, which yielded vibrant greens used in European art from the Middle Ages through the 19th century.[39] Verdigris, with its crystalline blue-green to pure green hues depending on preparation—such as stacking copper in vinegar-fermented cellars—provided one of the few stable bright greens available before synthetic alternatives, influencing Renaissance paintings and early industrial applications.[40] Spectral distinctions from bluer teals arise from elevated reflectance in the 550-600 nm range (yellow-green wavelengths), enhancing perceived green intensity over blue-violet undertones.[37] In modern design, teal green supports environmental applications by mimicking natural vegetation for camouflage in military and wildlife contexts, where its mid-tone green aids blending with leaf litter and undergrowth.[41] For eco-branding, it conveys renewal and tranquility, as seen in palettes promoting sustainability without overt greenwashing, combining green's growth symbolism with subtle blue calm to foster trust in environmental claims.[42] This usage aligns with color psychology associating such shades with optimism and nature connection, though authenticity requires substantive practices beyond visual cues.[43]Related Shades
Turquoise (#40E0D0; RGB 64, 224, 208), a lighter and more saturated adjacent shade, positions closer to cyan with a hue angle of approximately 174 degrees, emphasizing brighter green-blue vibrancy compared to teal's balanced mid-tone.[44] Deep sea green (#014421; RGB 1, 68, 33), conversely, shifts toward darker verdancy with a hue around 148 degrees, featuring dominant green components and reduced lightness, often evoking forested depths rather than aquatic teal.[45] Teal bridges these via its intermediate cyan dominance at 180 degrees hue, where equal blue and green intensities (#008080; RGB 0, 128, 128) create perceptual overlap in digital and pigment applications.[3] In linguistic color classifications, such as Berlin and Kay's evolutionary model, these blue-greens frequently fall under a single "grue" (green-blue) basic term across languages, with cyan-like intermediates like teal lacking dedicated categorical status due to inconsistent focal points in Munsell arrays.[46] Pigment-wise, teal achieves its hue through mixtures of copper phthalocyanine blue (PB15) and green (PG7), without a proprietary standalone pigment, distinguishing it from specialized turquoise options like cobalt aluminate (PG50).[47]| Shade | Hex Code | RGB Values | Approx. Hue Angle | Pigment Basis Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turquoise | #40E0D0 | 64, 224, 208 | 174° | Phthalo turquoise (PB16) or cobalt turquoise (PG50)[48][49] |
| Deep Sea Green | #014421 | 1, 68, 33 | 148° | Phthalo green mixes[45] |
| Cyan | #00FFFF | 0, 255, 255 | 180° | Process cyan (printing)[50] |