Your question is both logical and intriguing. It is also several years old. However, I have not been idle. Oh no. I have spent those years working towards a new taxonomy of colour which does away with arbitrary adjective-based taxa. The rules are simple enough, and will be published in my forthcoming, easy-to-read book (1426 pages, Cambridge Scholars Press, due out in 2031), entitled Plue, Grink, Pinkle, and Blorange: Towards an Intimate (De)construction of the Taxonomy of Colour (for our American readers the book will be published under the title Them Colors Sure is Purdy, by Scholastic Books Ltd.)
Gone are the intricate colour systems of old...
However, I now feel that I am at the stage where I can summarise the rules for my beloved and loyal readers in a few short paragraphs. At least, the major rules.
The system works on a principle of prefixes and suffixes which will be derived from each shade’s pre-designated hexidecimal code multiplied by the square root of its hue in degrees (see the relevant chart here). Each shade will be assigned a different suffix or prefix dependant upon its light value (measured in steps). For example, the colour previously designated “Light Yellow” is assigned hex codes of #FFFFE0, #FFFFE2, #FFFFE4, and #FFFFE5. Using a simple alpha-numeric substitution system, we can therefore assign values of 666650, 666652, 666654, and 666655, to be multiplied by the square root of its hue, in this instance the square root of 60, which is 7.75 approximately. This equates to values of 5166537.5, 5166553, 5166568.7, and 5166576.25, respectively.
We have therefore determined that – based on this calculation of x*(√h) = Ω where x= hex code, h= hue in degrees, and Ω = suffix or prefix value – these four shades should be designated the following prefix/suffixes:
- Who even wants to try and make sense of such gibberish?
However, in order to allow for easier pronunciation, the suffixes and prefixes will be integrated more intuitively into the word thusly:
The book will offer an extensive list of the 45,602, 432 possible suffix/prefix combinations for each potential solution and the resulting taxon for each colour and shade, but I will here outline the most common adjective-based indicators currently in use and their Quasi-Apt-Calculated-Classification (or Quacc) System name here:
I know, I know, you’re going to say “but what about my ‘zinnwaldite brown’? My ‘tyrian purple’? My ‘screamin’ green’? My ‘phthalo blue’? My ‘arylide yellow’? My ‘aurometalsaurus’ (yeah, that’s a colour)?
