Azur or azure?
azur is an adjective meaning “Alternative form of azure (“blue tincture in heraldry”)”; azure is an adjective meaning “Sky blue; resembling the clear blue colour of the unclouded sky”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) azure is about 5.1 times as common as azur.
What is the difference between azur and azure?
| azur | azure | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective | noun, adjective, verb |
| Meaning | Alternative form of azure (“blue tincture in heraldry”) | The clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour A blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines Sky blue; resembling the clear blue colour of the unclouded sky |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈæʒə/ /ˈæz.jʊə/ /ˈæʒjʊə/ |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words | 2.2 times per million words |
Sources: azur and azure in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of azur and azure
azur
- 1
Alternative form of azure (“blue tincture in heraldry”)
azure
- 1
The clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour
- 2
Sky blue; resembling the clear blue colour of the unclouded sky
- 3
To colour blue
- 4
A blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines
- 5
Cloudless
- 6
The unclouded sky; the blue vault above
- 7
In blazon, of the colour blue
- 8
Any of various widely distributed lycaenid butterflies of the genus Celastrina
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, azur or azure?
azur appears about once in every 2 million words; azure 2.2 times per million words.
azur about once in every 2 million wordsazure 2.2 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).