Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue which almost appears as black. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with white) worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. It was also worn by the Americans during some wars.
When this color, taken from the usual color of the uniforms of sailors, originally came into use in the early 19th century, it was initially called marine blue, but the name of the color soon changed to navy blue.
The first recorded use of Navy blue as a color name in English was in 1840.
Famous quotes containing the words navy and/or blue:
“I call to mind the navy great
That the Greeks brought to Troye town,
And how the boistous winds did beat
Their ships, and rent their sails adown;
Till Agamemnon’s daughter’s blood
Appeased the gods that them withstood.”
—Henry Howard, Earl Of Surrey (1517?–1547)
“How prone poor Humanity is to dam up the minutest remnants of its freedom, and build an artificial roof to prevent it looking up to the clear blue sky.”
—E.T.A.W. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Wilhelm)