Lavender is a pale tint of violet. It applies particularly to the color of the flower of the same name. The web color called lavender is displayed at right -- it matches the color of the very palest part of the lavender flower; however, the more saturated color shown below as floral lavender more closely matches the average color of the lavender flower and is the tone of lavender historically and traditionally considered lavender by the average person as opposed to those who are web site designers. The color lavender might be described as a medium violet or a light pinkish violet. The term lavender may also be used in general to apply to a wide range of pale, light, medium, or grayish violet colors, as well as some pale or light pinkish, magenta, or purple colors as well as some pale or light blueish-indigo colors. In paints, the color lavender is made by mixing violet and white paint.

The first recorded use of the word lavender as a color term in English was in 1705