ker·mes 
(kûrmēz)
(kûrmēz)n.
A red dyestuff once prepared from the dried bodies of various female scale insects of the genus Kermes.
[French kermès, short for alkermès, from Arabic al-qirmiz, the kermes, probably from Sanskrit kṛmi-ja-, (red dye) produced by worms; see kwmi- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]