In literature, the term "milk" is often deployed as a color descriptor that evokes qualities of purity, softness, and luminous whiteness. For example, one author expands on the essence of white by noting that it is what snow, milk, and marble share, thus emphasizing their clean, unblemished character [1]. Similarly, the adjective "milk-white" is used to lend a delicate, almost ethereal quality to the imagery in other works – a bud is portrayed as milk-white [2] and a steed is described in the same way to suggest both beauty and rarity [3]. In yet another instance, the subtle radiance of a sky is enhanced by the depiction of clouds that are milk-white, adding to the scene's dreamlike atmosphere [4].
- White, they say, is either what snow, milk, and marble share in common, or what remains if we drop from snow, milk, and marble all but their color.
— from The Monist, Vol. 1, 1890-1891 by Various
- She instantly detached a milk-white bud from the rest and handed it to him.
— from The Wheels of Time by Florence L. (Florence Louisa) Barclay
- And some they mounted the black steed, And some mounted the brown; But Janet mounted the milk-white steed, To ride foremost through the town.
— from Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)
- There was only the half of a high moon drifted over by ragged, milk-white gulf clouds.
— from Heart of the West [Annotated] by O. Henry