The colour orange is synonymous with the citrus fruit which shares its name and hue.

But do you know if the name for the fruit or the name for the colour came first?

This is only one question raised following the creation of the world's first ever colour thesaurus by Californian illustrator and children's author, Ingrid Sundberg.

Given the exoticism of the orange fruit, you could be forgiven that the colour came first as it naturally occurs independent of the fruit such as in sunsets or leaves in autumn.

Orange actually comes from the Old French word for the citrus fruit - 'pomme d'orenge' - according to the Collins dictionary.

Different types of the colour orange from the colour thesaurus (Ingrid Sundberg)

This in turn is thought have come from the Sanskrit word "nāranga" via Persian and Arabic.

The use of orange as the specific description for a colour is thought to have begun in the 1500s when the fruit began to regularly appear on English market stalls.

Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Show all 18 1 /18 Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Men daubed in colours celebrate the re-enactment of a local tradition of "Lathmar Holi", also known as the festival of colours, celebrated at Nandgaon village near the northern Indian city of Mathura Reuters Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian sadhus, Hindu holy men, smear coloured 'gullal' power on each other's faces as they celebrate Holi in Allahabad Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian children throw colored water and powder in celebration of Holi in Mumbai Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian youth cover each other with coloured powder and water while celebrating Holi, 'the Festival of Colours' in Hyderabad Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian youth smear each other's faces with coloured powder as they celebrate Holi, the Festival of Colours in Mumbai Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival An Indian man is covered with coloured powder as he celebrates Holi, the Festival of Colours Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian girls play with 'Aabir' a coloured dust as they celebrate Vasantotsav Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Pakistani Hindus cover each other with coloured powder as they celebrate Holi in Lahore Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival A cloud of red powder fillls the air as Pakistani Hindus cover each other with colours to celebrate Holi in Lahore Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian women are covered in colored powder as they dance in celebration of Holi in Mumbai Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival A youth is covered with coloured powder during the celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colours in Mumbai Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Indian youth smear each other with coloured powder and water as they celebrate Holi, the Festival of Colours in Mumbai Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Children pose after covering themselves with a coloured powder called abir during Holi festival Reuters Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival A Hindu devotees prays after having played with colour during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Hindu devotees play with colour during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Young boys playing Holi, known as Kanhas, the childhood name for the God Krishna, throw colour over Hindu devotees during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Dye covers the foot of a Hindu devotees as others play with colour during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple Getty Images Colour runs riot at Hindu Holi festival Hindu devotees play with colour during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple Getty Images

To add complication to our understanding of colour, not all world languages have as many basic colour terms as English.