Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CAR'MINE, n. [Fr. carmin; Sp. carmin; Port. carmim; It. carminio; from the same root as crimson; Port. carmesim, crimson; Sp. carmesi, crimson and cochineal powder; It. chermisi, crimson, and chermes, cochineal, kermes; Ar. قِرْمِزٌ kirmiz, kirmizon, a berry, and an insect, used in dyeing.]

A powder or pigment, of a beautiful red or crimson color, bordering on purple, and used by painters in miniature, though rarely, on account of its great price. It is prepared by dissolving cochineal in an alkaline lye, and precipitating it by alum. – Encyc. Nicholson.