Chartreuse (pronounced /ʃɑrˈtruːz/, /ʃɑrˈtruːs/; French IPA: [ʃarˈtʁɶz]) (the web color) is a color halfway between green and yellow that was named because of its resemblance to the green color of one of the French liqueurs called green chartreuse, introduced in 1764; whereas chartreuse (the traditional color) is a yellow color mixed with a small amount of green that was named because of its resemblance to the yellow color of one of the French liqueurs called yellow chartreuse, introduced in 1838.[1]
The web colorchartreuse is the color precisely halfway between green and yellow, so it is 50% green and 50% yellow.
The term chartreuse was first used to refer to this color (the color halfway between green and yellow) when the X11 web colors were invented in the mid-1990s. Before that, this color was called yellow-green.citation needed
Displayed at right is the web color yellow-green, a dull medium shade of chartreuse.
Before the X11 web colors were invented in the mid-1990s, the color term yellow-green was used to refer to the color that is now designated as the web color chartreuse (i.e., the color halfway between yellow and green on the color wheel), shown above. Now, the term yellow-green is used to refer to this medium desaturated shade of chartreuse.
Chartreuse in human culture
Note: Any of these references to the color chartreuse made in artistic creations produced before the mid 1990s refer to the traditional color chartreuse. Works produced since the mid 1990s may be referring to either the traditional color chartreuse or the web color chartreuse, depending on the context.
The Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter Westfalia model was well known for mostly being produced in the chartreuse color. The vehicle is referenced in the song "Convoy" (see below).
Alhambra water (a brand delivered mainly in Northern California since 1902) and the other brands of bottled water delivered by the Sparkletts Water Company are delivered in chartreuse (web color) colored trucks. [1]
It was announced over the radio in the early 1990's as part of a trivia clip that the third color that can be emitted by a red/green bi-color LED is officially known as chartreuse.citation needed The third color is now more correctly referred to as amber. This was a mistake most likely helped by the incorrectly labeled Crayola crayon that is now labeled Atomic Tangerine, an amber-like color (see the top of this article for more Crayola information).
The early green LED's are now sometimes called chartreuse to distinguish them from more-modern, darker-green LED's.[5]
Since about 1973, a sort of fluorescent chartreuse (traditional) color has been adopted as the color of fire engines in parts of the United States and elsewhere. The reason behind this is that chartreuse fire engines are more visible on the streets than the traditional red fire engines, especially at night (the reason for this is the Purkinje Effect, i.e., the cones do not function as efficiently in dim light, so red objects appear to be black). In Australia and New Zealand this form of chartreuse yellow is also known as "ACT Yellow" as this is the color of the fire engines in the Australian Capital Territory.
In "Convoy", a 1975 song by C.W. McCall, "11 long-haired friends of Jesus" were said to have taken part in the eponymous convoy in a "...chartreuse microbus".
Public utility workers in most cities wear clothing colored fluorescent traditional chartreuse (officially called neon yellow) for safety purposes when working on the street. This color is also worn by bicyclists for safety purposes.