Hue
The base colour itself — red, blue, green, yellow and so on — independent of how light, dark or saturated it is.
Technical definition
The attribute of a colour corresponding to its position on the colour wheel, typically expressed as an angle (0–360°) in HSL, HSV or LCH colour spaces.
Common confusion
People often say 'colour' when they mean hue specifically — 'red' is a hue, but 'pale dusty red' describes hue plus tone and saturation.
Example
Navy blue and sky blue have the same hue (blue) but very different lightness and saturation.
Why it matters
Hue is the first thing most colour relationships (complementary, analogous, triadic) are built from.
Related terms
Sources
- CSS Color Module Level 4 — W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)