carnation vs vermilion

carnation

adj
  • Of a rosy pink or red colour. 

noun
  • originally, Dianthus caryophyllus 

  • other members of genus Dianthus and hybrids 

  • The type of flower they bear, originally flesh-coloured, but since hybridizing found in a variety of colours. 

  • A rosy pink colour 

  • A scarlet colour. 

vermilion

adj
  • Having a brilliant red colour. 

  • Having the color of the vermilion dye. 

verb
  • To color or paint vermilion. 

noun
  • A vivid red synthetic pigment made of mercury sulfide, cinnabar. 

  • A type of red dye worn in the parting of the hair by married Hindu women. 

  • A bright orange-red colour. 

  • The red skin of the lips or its border with the skin of the face. 

How often have the words carnation and vermilion occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )