[css] CSS "color" vs. "font-color"

Anyone know why CSS provides color for text, but does not have font-color or text-color?

Seems very counter-intuitive, kind of like text-decoration: underline rather than font-style or something related to fonts.

Does anyone know why/how the W3C came up with such a wide array of CSS names like this?

I know this is an old post but as MisterZimbu stated, the color property is defining the values of other properties, as the border-color and, with CSS3, of currentColor.

currentColor is very handy if you want to use the font color for other elements (as the background or custom checkboxes and radios of inner elements for example).

Example:

.element {_x000D_
  color: green;_x000D_
  background: red;_x000D_
  display: block;_x000D_
  width: 200px;_x000D_
  height: 200px;_x000D_
  padding: 0;_x000D_
  margin: 0;_x000D_
}_x000D_
_x000D_
.innerElement1 {_x000D_
  border: solid 10px;_x000D_
  display: inline-block;_x000D_
  width: 60px;_x000D_
  height: 100px;_x000D_
  margin: 10px;_x000D_
}_x000D_
_x000D_
.innerElement2 {_x000D_
  background: currentColor;_x000D_
  display: inline-block;_x000D_
  width: 60px;_x000D_
  height: 100px;_x000D_
  margin: 10px;_x000D_
}

<div class="element">_x000D_
  <div class="innerElement1"></div>_x000D_
  <div class="innerElement2"></div>_x000D_
</div>

The same way Boston came up with its street plan. They followed the cow paths already there, and built houses where the streets weren't, and after a while it was too much trouble to change.