# hue

> English word · Noun · IPA /hjuː/ · frequency rank #15,190

## Definitions
1. A color, or shade of color; tint; dye.
2. The characteristic related to the light frequency that appears in the color, for instance red, yellow, green, cyan, blue or magenta.
3. A character; aspect.
4. Form; appearance; guise.

## Etymology
From Middle English hewe, from Old English hīew (“appearance, form, species, kind; apparition; hue, color; beauty; figure of speech”), from Proto-West Germanic *hiwi, from Proto-Germanic *hiwją (“hue, form, shape, appearance; mildew”), from Proto-Indo-European *kew-, *ḱew- (“skin, colour of the skin”) or *ḱey- (“grey, dark shade”). Cognate with Swedish hy (“complexion, skin”), Norwegian hy (“fluff, mold, skin”), Icelandic hégómi (“vanity”), Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐍅𐌹 (hiwi, “form, show, appearance”). Compare also Sanskrit छवि (chavi, “cuticle, skin, hide; beauty, splendour”); Irish ceo (“fog”), Tocharian B kwele (“black, dark grey”), Lithuanian šývas (“light grey”), Albanian thinjë (“grey”), Sanskrit श्याव (śyāvá, “brown”).

## Easily confused with
- **hv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hv)
- **huh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-huh)
- **hug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hug)
- **hut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hut)
- **hum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hum)
- **hun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hun)
- **hwy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hwy)
- **hye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hye)
- **hui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hui)
- **Hur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hur)
- **Hus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hus)
- **Huw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-huw)
- **huge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-huge)
- **hurt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hurt)
- **hunt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hunt)
- **hung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hung)
- **hull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hull)
- **hype** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hype)
- **Hugh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hugh)
- **Hugo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hue-vs-hugo)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hue