What does teal mean?
Teal is a word with two firmly established meanings: a medium blue-green color and a small duck found in wetlands. As a noun, the color sense is now the dominant use in general English and appears readily in descriptions of clothing, interiors, vehicles, gems, and natural scenery. Its particular shade lies between blue and green and is often described as calm, cool, sophisticated, or aquatic. As an adjective, teal indicates that something has this distinctive blue-green color, although a more explicit compound form is sometimes preferred for clarity. The second meaning is more specialized: a teal is a small dabbling duck, distinct from related species such as mallards and pintails. The connection between the meanings is historical rather than arbitrary. The word first named the bird, and the color was later called teal because of the bird's blue-green plumage. As a result, teal is a particularly memorable example of a color taking its name from an animal.
A medium blue-green color; also, a small dabbling duck belonging to the genus Anas.
"The lake turned an almost metallic teal beneath the afternoon sky."
The color sense is much more common in contemporary general usage than the ornithological sense.
Denoting a medium blue-green color.
"He wore a teal shirt with charcoal trousers."
The plural is used especially for the birds; the color sense is normally uncountable, though it can be pluralized when referring to distinct shades or instances.
"Several teals skimmed the water near the reeds."
The color teal was named after a bird: the word originally referred to a small duck whose plumage supplied the color's name.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does teal come from?
The word is recorded in Middle English as tele, meaning the small duck now called a teal. The color sense developed in the 19th century from the bird's characteristic blue-green plumage, so the color name is younger than the bird name. The bird name has a cognate in Dutch teal, reflecting the word's Germanic ancestry.
How teal is actually used
The color term is neutral and common in both everyday and design contexts. The bird sense occurs chiefly in ornithological and wildlife writing.