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ctl-alt-replete t1_iucxitv wrote

Reply to comment by blow_up_the_outside in ELI5: Why are the colours in rainbows in separate lines? by Oheligud

Fun fact. The Japanese don’t have a separate word for ‘green’ and ‘blue’. They named the part of the visible spectrum that, to English speakers, is between what we call ‘green’ and what we call ‘blue’. What we call a ‘green light’ (on a traffic light) they call ‘blue light’, what we call ‘green apple’ they call ‘blue apple’ etc.

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entrepreneurofcool t1_iud5jfe wrote

That's not exactly true. The word 'midori' means green, and has been in use since the heian period (8th century) but was considered a shade of 'ao' ( blue) until early twentieth century, where midori has been more frequently used to describe what English speakers would call green. You are correct about traffic lights, and about certain green plants being called 'ao'.

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