We use many ways to describe and distinguish between the attributes of colour

PRIMARY

Primary Colours are, by definition, colours that can't be mixed. Artists and Artisans generally make or use colour from pigments and inks and use the RYB colour system that defines the 3 primary colours as red, yellow and blue. Virtually any colour can be made by mixing these primary colours.

SECONDARY

Secondary Colours are made by mixing equal amounts 2 primaries. There are 3 secondary colours, green (blue + yellow), violet (blue + red) and orange (red + yellow)

TERTIARY

Tertiary colours are made by mixing secondary colours with the nearest adjacent primary colour. There are six colours in this group; yellow green, yellow orange, red orange, red violet, blue violet, and blue green.

HUE, SATURATION & BRIGHTNESS

Hue is the property of light by which the colour of an object is classified such as red, blue, green, orange or yellow in reference to the spectrum. It is a gradation of colour dependant on its dominant wavelength.

Saturation is a representation of how rich or intense the colour is.
Brightness is a representation of how bright (light or dark) the colour is.

Interested in delving further into this topic?

RYB Color Model (Wikipaedia)

Do Primary Colours exist? (handprint.com)