Pink pinks

The word ‘pink’ has been used in Britain to describe Dianthus since the 15th century. The exact origin of the word itself is unclear, but it is thought to refer to the pinking around the edges of the flower’s petals. A less attractive possibility is that it descends from a Dutch word that describes a disease that left the eyes bloody – a reference to the red centre of many pinks.

The first recorded uses of the word to describe a colour between red and white don’t appear until the early years of the 17th century. It is an indication of how widespread the plant was that its name became accepted as a description of anything that shared its colouring.