Silver is a metallic color tone resembling gray that is a representation of the color of polished silver.The first recorded use of silver as a color name in English was in 1481. Like turquoise, orange and purple, silver has no common rhyme. The expression "every cloud has a silver lining" is used to point out that something good can often come out of even a bad situation. The expression "silver-tongued" refers to a person who possesses the power of fluent, persuasive, eloquent and/or witty speech.

The visual sensation usually associated with the metal silver is its metallic shine. This cannot be reproduced by a simple solid color, because the shiny effect is due to the material's brightness varying with the surface angle to the light source. In addition, there is no mechanism for showing metallic or fluorescent colors on a computer without resorting to rendering software which simulates the action of light on a shiny surface. Consequently in art one would normally use a metallic paint that glitters like real silver. A matte grey color like the swatch on this page would not be considered silver.