colourful

Colourful, or colorful in American English, is an adjective meaning made up of many colors or very bright and diverse in appearance. It can describe physical objects, environments, artworks, or experiences that feature a wide range of hues or a lively visual character.

Etymology: The word derives from color and the suffix -ful; from Latin color and Old French couleur. In English it has been used since the 15th century to describe both literal color and figurative richness.

Perception and measurement: Colorfulness is a perceptual attribute related to the amount of chroma or saturation in a color, affected by illumination and surrounding colors. In imaging, colorfulness indices quantify vividness in standardized color spaces.

Cultural and linguistic usage: In everyday speech, "colourful" can mean lively or expressive. Phrases such as "colorful language" or "colorful characters" point to vivid, memorable, or distinctive qualities beyond mere color.

In art, design, and nature, colorfulness is often sought to convey mood and emphasis, but excessive colorfulness can reduce legibility or coherence if not balanced with neutral tones.