This study deals with research made on cross-linguistic colour categorization and naming based on the hypothesis raised in Berlin and Kay (1969) about an almost universal pattern in the selection of colours that receive abstract names in each language. In order to reveal the overall palette of basic colour terms within the Greek language as well as the level of agreement among speakers, we have conducted two experiments. The mechanism of compound formation using basic colours is further tested against the principle of the Right-hand Head Rule as proposed in Williams (1981). The results of our empirical research show, on the one hand, that Greek speakers’ intuition agrees with the universality claim for the basic colour terms, but on the other hand compounding involving two colour constituents rejects the RHR by shifting the head to the left. ΛΕΞΕΙΣ-ΚΛΕΙΔΙΑ: βασικοί χρωματικοί όροι, μορφολογία της Ελληνικής, σύνθεση, μορφολογική κεφαλή, πείραμα Berlin-Kay