32 Meanings of the Color Green

Green is a pervasive color in nature that is attached to strong symbolism in most cultures. The following are common examples of symbolism, meanings and perceptions of green color.

Nature Green
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Green is pervasive in nature and is first and foremost perceived as natural.

Spring Green
#cefebd

Spring and renewal.

Peter Pan
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Youth and inexperience. This is by analogy to Spring.

Mint Green
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Some shades of green are perceived as minty.

Earth Green
#05af33

Green symbolizes the planet Earth, the environment and environmentalism.

Dollar Green
#99c99c

Green is associated with dollars and symbolizes money.

Caribbean Green
#47b3aa

Green-blue colors are associated with marine and oceanic environments.

Toxic Green
#12ff00

Bright fluorescent greens can be perceived as toxic and poisonous.

Monster Green
#93ef50

In storytelling and myth green is often used for monsters.

Emerald Green
#046307

Deep dark greens can feel luxurious.

Elite Green
#133700

Very dark greens are occasionally used to symbolize high status.

Forest Green
#053a0b

Green symbolizes forests and trees.

Golf Green
#008763

Sports and particular sports such as golf.

Lime Green
#2ce335

Green can feel fruity and citrusy.

Christmas Green
#34831f

Green strongly symbolizes Christmas when combined with red.

Irish Green
#169b62

Ireland, Irish culture and Irish folklore such as leprechaun.

Kelp
#3f4e11

Particular brownish shades of green can look like kelp or moss.

Zombie Green
#466b4c

In popular culture, zombies are often green.

Grass
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Vibrant greens may invoke images of grass, lawns and suburbia.

Avocado
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Creamy middle greens tend to be perceived as an avocado color.

Military Green
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Olive greens tend to be associated with the army and camouflage.

Turtle Green
#69824e

Green animals such as turtles and frogs.

Grasshopper Greens
#00912f

Insects and specific insects such as grasshoppers.

Wintergreen
#7ebaa6

Due to its association with cool vegetation and mints, green is perceived as cool or cold.

Go Green
#1ae137

Green is culturally associated with permission and all-clear status.

Money Green
#00631c

Green is traditionally used to highlight profits and other positive results.

Tea Green
#75936d

Green is associated with vegetables, green tea and healthy food.

Alien Green
#77c815

In pop culture, aliens are imagined as green.

Dragon Green
#0e8f68

Green is generally associated with mythical creatures such as dragons.

Pine Tree
#024f2b

Dark greens can feel like pine, northern forests and alpine environments.

Life Green
#008c4a

Green is often used to symbolize biology and life.

Jade
#005c2f

Green is considered an auspicious and lucky color in some cultures.

Summary

The following are common associations with the color green.

Aliens (from film and fiction)	Banking
Brazil	Camouflage
Christmas	Cool (color temperature)
Dragons & Other Mythical Creatures	Environment
Finances	Gaelic Culture
Go (from traffic lights)	Good Luck
Greed	Growth
Hope	Inexperience
Ireland	Islam
Jamaica	Jealousy
Leprechauns	Life
Medical	Military
Mints	Money
Monsters	Nature
Normal Status (see below)	Permission
Plants	Poison
Refreshing (i.e. minty)	Safety
Sickness	Spring
Success	Summer
Sustainability	Toxic
Water (e.g. green seas)	Wealth
Witchcraft	Youth

Green is associated with youth and inexperience. This likely originated with analogies to Spring. This is also extended to abstract concepts that have a youthful or Spring feel such as hope.

Many shades of green, such as olive drab, have a military feel to them due to their use in camouflage and military uniforms. Green is particularly associated with the army.

Green is symbolic of money, finance and greed due to the green color of the currency of the United States of America. The color green also has a long association with banking in Europe.

Green is associated with medical things as it is traditionally used in medical uniforms. It is also associated with sickness, possibly due to actual conditions that turn the skin green. This may also be a literary device whereby green is used as an unnatural color for human skin that symbolizes emotional states such as jealousy and physical sickness.

Medium green is strongly associated with Christmas when combined with medium red. For this reason, green and red are often thought to clash due to an unintentional Christmas feel.

The perceptual color temperature of green is cool. In other words, humans tend to perceive green things as cool to the touch. This is due to the green elements of nature such as plants and green seas that tend to have a cooling effect.

Green is traditionally associated with jealousy and envy with sayings such as "green with envy." This likely originated with Othello, a 1603 tragedy written by William Shakespeare with the line "Beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."

Bright greens such as neon green are traditionally associated with poison and toxic things. This may be related to the color of actual historical poisons such as Scheele’s green, a historically popular pigment that contains arsenic.

Green is pervasive in nature and is used to symbolize all things natural and environmental.

Much green symbolism extends from the use of the color in stop lights where it means "go." For example, green is commonly used in communications, reporting and controls to symbolize safety, success and normal status.

Green is considered an important color to Islam where it is associated with paradise.

Green is associated with good luck in Irish folklore.

In many Asian cultures, green is an auspicious color that symbolizes luck and the products of luck such as wealth. Historically, the green colored stone jade was valued in Asia as gold and diamonds were in the West.

Green is a very common color for the flags of nations. A few of these are listed above as examples.

The color psychology of green largely relates to the symbolism of the color. Context is also important. For example, being around green trees may have a very different emotional effect than painting your walls a toxic shade of bright green.

Keep in mind that green isn't a single color but rather a range of color that includes countless variations.

Linguistically, some languages traditionally make no distinction between green and blue. For example, Japanese language historically categorizes greens as blues. If this seems strange to you, this is a result of your cultural background. Categorization of color by culture is somewhat arbitrary. For example, a strong argument can be made that cyan is a foundational color alongside blue and green -- but people tend to perceive cyans as blues or greens.

Next: Green Colors

32 Meanings of the Color Green

Summary

Green Color Meaning

Color Theory

Brown Opposite

Art Examples

True Red

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Words To Describe Red

Words To Describe Blue

Color Examples

Blue Things

Color Tone

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Verdigris

Olive Green

True Green

Pastel Green

Color Palette

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