kermes

A red dyestuff once prepared from the dried bodies of various female scale insects of the genus Kermes.

Short for kermes-mineral, or, more properly, mineral kermes.

A red dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of the females of one or two species of Coccus, especially C. ilicis, an insect found on various species of oak in countries bordering on the Mediterranean.

[capitalized] [NL,] A genus of Coccinæ erected by Targioni-Tozzetti.

The dried bodies of the females of a scale insect (Kermes ilices formerly Coccus ilicis), allied to the cochineal insect, and found on several species of oak near the Mediterranean; also, the dye obtained from them. They are round, about the size of a pea, contain coloring matter analogous to carmine, and are used in dyeing. They were anciently thought to be of a vegetable nature, and were used in medicine.

A small European evergreen oak (Quercus coccifera) on which the kermes insect (Kermes ilices, formerly Coccus ilicis) feeds.

A genus of scale insects including many species that feed on oaks. The adult female resembles a small gall.

A compound of the trioxide and trisulphide of antimony, used in medicine. This substance occurs in nature as the mineral kermesite.

any of several insects of the genus Kermes

Crimson dye made from the crushed bodies of these insects