bermejo

Inherited from Old Spanish vermejo (“red”), from Vulgar Latin *vermiclus, syncopated form of Latin vermiculus (“little worm”), from vermis (“worm”), ultimately in reference to Kermes vermilio, a type of scale insect used to make a crimson dye. Compare Portuguese vermelho. Compare also Proto-Slavic *čьrvenъ (“red”), which is a passive participle of *čьrviti (“to dye using *čьrvь”), where *čьrvь is a kind of worm used as a red dye.

• IPA^(key): /beɾˈmexo/ [beɾˈme.xo]
• Rhymes: -exo
• Syllabification: ber‧me‧jo

bermejo (feminine bermeja, masculine plural bermejos, feminine plural bermejas)

1. reddish, vermilion
2. russet, auburn

• “bermejo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014