[kur-meez] 
| 1. | a red dye formerly prepared from the dried bodies of the females of a scale insect, Kermes ilices, which lives on small, evergreen oaks of the Mediterranean region. |
| 2. | the oak itself, of the genus Quercus coccifera. |
| ker·mes (kûr'mēz) n. A red dyestuff once prepared from the dried bodies of various female scale insects of the genus Kermes. [French kermès, short for alkermès, from Arabic al-qirmiz, the kermes, probably from Sanskrit kṛmi-ja-, (red dye) produced by worms; see kw  mi- in Indo-European roots.] |