Vermilion, a bright scarlet pigment used to make paint and to color rubber and other substances. It was originally made by grinding cinnabar, the red ore from which mercury is obtained. Vermilion is now-made synthetically. In one process, mercury is heated with sulfur to produce mercuric sulfide, which is then sublimed (evaporated and condensed directly into a solid). Vermilion is made also by heating mercury and sulfur in a solution of potash.