Light blue is a color or range of colors, typically a lightened shade with a hue between cyan and blue. The first use of "light blue" as a color term in English is in the year 1915. In Russian and some other languages, there is no single word for blue, but rather different words for light blue (голубой, goluboy) and dark blue (синий, siniy). The Ancient Greek word for a light blue, glaukos, also could mean light green, gray, or yellow. In Modern Hebrew, light blue, tchelet (תכלת) is differentiated from blue, kachol (כחול). In Modern Greek, light blue, galazio (γαλάζιο) is also differentiated from blue, ble (μπλε). During the 2000s, this color saw a surge of popularity due to a few American sports teams adopting the color for their uniforms. Famous examples include the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Gold, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Variations

Light blue (Literal interpretation)

This shade is a literal light blue, or in other words, a simple combination of blue and white. It has the same hue as blue (240°) with less saturation in HSV or more lightness in HSL. The specific hex color #80ffff is also commonly used in 3D computer graphics as the base color for Normal mapping, in which it typically represents the smooth areas of the surface.

Light blue (Crayola)

Displayed at the right is the color that is called "light blue" in Crayola crayons. It was only available in 1958. Contrary to its title, it is technically a shade of cyan due to its hue of 180°.

Light blue (RYB)

Displayed at the right is the color that is called "light blue" in the RYB color model. It is a mixture of blue and white.

Light blue in human culture

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