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Sage 5 / 40 Greens Lime
#808000
Green family

Olive

Also known as: earthy · muted · natural · calming · vintage
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Hex #808000
RGB rgb(128, 128, 0)
HSL hsl(60°, 100%, 25%)
CMYK 0 · 0 · 100 · 50
CSS olive
RAL RAL 1027 · Curry
NCS S 5040-Y

RAL and NCS values are nearest equivalents, not official designations.

Meaning

In Western cultures, olive symbolizes peace and harmony, largely due to its association with the olive branch as a peace offering. Contrarily, in some Middle Eastern cultures, it represents prosperity and fertility, showcasing its varied significance across different societies.

The term 'olive' comes from the Latin word 'oliva,' dating back to at least the 12th century. The color gained prominence during the Renaissance when it was favored in art and fashion, particularly in Italy, where olive oil was a staple of daily life and culture.

earthymutednaturalcalmingvintage

The story of Olive

Where the name and the color come from.

Olive is named after the unripe fruit of the olive tree, Olea europaea, and the dark yellowish-green of its foliage. The olive has been cultivated around the Mediterranean for thousands of years, and the olive branch has symbolized peace since ancient Greece — a thread of meaning the color still carries.

Chromatically, olive is a dark, muted yellow-green: take yellow toward black and you arrive at olive. That earthy darkness is why it feels organic and utilitarian rather than bright.

Where you'll see Olive

The places, brands and moments that shaped this color.

Military uniforms

Olive drab became the standard field color of 20th-century armies precisely because it blends into landscape — a practical, unshowy green.

The olive branch

From Greek mythology onward, the olive has symbolized peace, victory and endurance, lending the color quiet, grounded connotations.

Utility fashion

Cargo pants, field jackets and workwear keep olive in steady rotation as a rugged, masculine-leaning staple.

Using Olive in design

How it behaves in interiors, fashion and branding.

Olive is an earthy grounding green that pairs beautifully with other natural tones — tan, brown, rust and cream — for a warm, organic, slightly retro palette. It works as a sophisticated alternative to neutral on walls, upholstery and tailoring.

In fashion it reads as utilitarian and effortlessly cool, which is why it never fully leaves the rotation in menswear and outerwear.

What pairs with Olive

Curated combinations — and exactly why each one works.

Olive + Cream

Cream lifts olive's darkness into a soft, earthy, livable contrast.

Olive + Rust

Two muted earth tones — olive and rust — make a rich autumnal, bohemian palette.

Olive + Tan

Tan and olive is the backbone of the utility/safari look: natural, warm and understated.

Olive + Blush

A dusty pink warms olive and softens its military edge for a more romantic scheme.

Similar colors

Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Olive. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).

All 40 Greens →

Citrine

#E4D00A · ΔE 40.1

Gold

#FFD700 · ΔE 47.7

Sunflower

#FFDA00 · ΔE 48.3

Aureolin

#FDEE00 · ΔE 53.3

Chartreuse Yellow

#DFFF00 · ΔE 59.5

Yellow

#FFFF00 · ΔE 59.6

Shades & tints

Nine steps of Olive by lightness — from #434300 (darkest) to #BDBD7A (lightest). Click any to copy.

-40% #434300
-30% #525200
-20% #616100
-10% #717100
BASE #808000
+15% #8F8F1F
+30% #9E9E3D
+50% #AEAE5C
+70% #BDBD7A

Complementary

Sitting opposite Olive at 240° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.

Blue

#0000FF

Midnight Blue

#191970

Periwinkle

#CCCCFF

Dark Blue

#00008B

Palettes

Curated 5-color combinations featuring Olive.

#808000
#B5C91A
#F5F5DC
#4B4B2D
#3F6F3F

Nature's Embrace

Earthy Serenity
#808000
#D9C47A
#FFFFFF
#7B7B7B
#4A3C2A

Harvest Gold

Warm Abundance
#808000
#2E4A2A
#A9A9A9
#F0E68C
#6B8E23

Forest Whisper

Lush Tranquility

Olive scale

A 50–900 tonal scale with Olive anchored at 500 — ready to drop into a design system. Click any step to copy.

50 #F5F5EB
100 #E8E8D1
200 #CFCF9E
300 #B5B56B
400 #9B9B36
500 #808000
600 #696900
700 #545400
800 #404000
900 #2C2C00

Accessibility

Works well as text on dark backgrounds; fails on light.

Aa Best text color: #000000 · 5.01:1
Olive as text on… Ratio AA AAA
Aa White background 4.2:1 Large only Fail
Aa Black background 5.01:1 Pass Large only

Thresholds: AA needs 4.5:1 (normal text) / 3:1 (large); AAA needs 7:1 / 4.5:1. Large = 18pt+ or 14pt+ bold.

How to use #808000

Copy-ready values for CSS, screen and print, plus the extra conversions designers reach for.

CSS color: olive;
CSS color-mix (lighten 30%) color-mix(in srgb, olive 70%, white)
HSV / HSB 60°, 100%, 50%
CMYK (print) 0, 0, 100, 50
Decimal 8421376
Nearest web-safe #999900

Color vision

How Olive appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.

Normal vision

#808000

Protanopia (no red)

#80801F

Deuteranopia (no green)

#808026

Tritanopia (no blue)

#80373D

Olive FAQ

Quick answers to the questions people ask about Olive.

Is olive green warm or cool?

Warm. Olive is built on a yellow base darkened toward brown, which gives it an earthy warmth — quite different from cool, blue-leaning greens like emerald or teal.

What is the difference between olive, army green and khaki?

Olive is a dark yellow-green; army green (olive drab) is a duller, browner military shade; khaki is lighter and more tan-beige. They sit on a spectrum from green (olive) toward brown (khaki).

What colors go with olive green?

Earth tones are natural partners — tan, brown, rust, cream and terracotta. For contrast, add blush pink, mustard, or crisp white; black grounds it for a sharper, modern look.

Sage 5 / 40 Greens Lime
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