"By comparing vernacular colour names across cultures, we begin to see that colour is not universal—it is a language shaped by ecology, labour, and lived experience."

Colour names are never only about colour—they are also about culture, landscape, and the objects people know best.

In Indonesia, particularly in Sundanese-speaking communities of West Java, a muted yellow-green is traditionally known as hejo tai kuda (or in Indonesian, hijau tai kuda), literally meaning "horse manure green." Although the name may sound surprising today, it was once a practical and familiar reference. Before industrial colour systems and standardized colour charts, people described colours by comparing them to everyday materials found in their environment. Fresh horse manure, rich in undigested grass, has a distinctive muted olive-green tone that became a recognizable colour reference, especially for textiles. A linguistic study of Sundanese colour vocabulary notes that hejo tai kuda is a specific shade used in describing fabrics and has no direct equivalent in standard Indonesian, reflecting the remarkable richness of local colour terminology.

In contrast, English speakers usually describe a similar hue as olive green, a name inspired by the colour of unripe olives. Another closely related term is khaki, derived from the Urdu and Persian word khāk, meaning "dust" or "earth." The British Army adopted the term during the nineteenth century, and it eventually became associated with military uniforms. Over time, British usage often blurred the distinction between khaki, olive green, and olive drab, particularly in military clothing, although technically they refer to slightly different shades.

These different names reveal more than colour preferences—they tell stories about place and experience. In Britain, the reference comes from olives and military history. In Indonesia, the name comes from close observation of everyday rural life. Both describe almost the same hue, yet each reflects a distinct cultural landscape. Colour, therefore, is not only a visual phenomenon but also a form of cultural memory, shaped by the materials, environments, and daily lives of the people who name it.