a. Unable to see certain colors; unable to discriminate between individual colors, or shades of color.
(The strict meaning ought to be ‘blind to color’ as a whole; but as this rarely exists (except in the case of the totally blind), the term is applied with much laxity to any constitutional inability to discriminate between colors, the common type being inability to distinguish the red and the green rays of the spectrum from each other.)
1854. Mackenzie, Dis. Eye (ed. 4), 948. It seems probable that yellow glasses will prove of use to colour-blind persons.
1866. Huxley, Phys., ix. § 8. Such colour-blind persons … are unable to distinguish between the leaves of the cherry-tree and its fruit.
1878. Browning, La Saisiaz, 39. Here ’s my neighbour colour-blind, Eyes like mine to all appearance.
b. fig. Taking no note of differences in racial color, in sex, etc.
1865. Commonwealth (Boston, U.S.), 18 Feb. A government color-blind; no distinction of race in the camp or the senate.
1888. Pall Mall Gaz., 17 Sept., 4/1. The National Association of Journalists … agreed that their body should be colour-blind as to sex. Ibid. (1890), 15 May, 3/1. Neither in the Dutch republics nor in the English colonies is the law absolutely colour-blind as between Black and White.
