purple

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With the exception of purple's suggestion of royalty (because originally only the wealthiest could afford the purple dye which was made from the Purpura shellfish), purple is very seldom used in color idioms outside of English.

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Definitions (72)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (9)

  1. noun Any of a group of colors with a hue between that of violet and red.
  2. noun Cloth of a color between violet and red, formerly worn as a symbol of royalty or high office.
  3. noun Imperial power; high rank: born to the purple.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (53)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples

  • With the exception of purple's suggestion of royalty (because originally only the wealthiest could afford the purple dye which was made from the Purpura shellfish), purple is very seldom used in color idioms outside of English. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VI No 1
  • "Colorful Language" [VI, 1] mentions that purple is royal but neglects to add that the royal purple has often stood for crimson. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VI No 3
  • I owe it to her, and the purple--the purple is ours! —  Complete Project Gutenberg Georg Ebers Works
  • I owe it to her, and the purple -- the purple is ours! —  The Emperor — Volume 07
  • This baby born in the purple was the Prince Imperial, whose fate beggars tragedy; who went to gather laurels on an African desert and fell a victim to a savage ambuscade — his beautiful body stuck almost as full of cruel darts as that of the martyred young St. Sebastian. —  Queen Victoria Her Girlhood And Womanhood
 

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Words tagged purple

admiral · amaranth · amaranthine · amethyst · amethystine · anemone · archil · aubergine · bluewood · cathedral · crocus · curple · damson · elderberry · fuchsine · prune

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Purple has been looked up 426 times, favorited once, listed 50 times, and commented on 0 times.

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English purpul, from purpure, purple garment, from Latin purpura, shellfish yielding purple dye, purple cloth, purple, from Greek porphurā.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English purpul, earlier purpre, pourpre, also purpur, purpure, purpour (cf. Anglo-Saxon purpure, a purple garment, purpuren, purple), from Old French porpre, pourpre, pouple, pople, Anglo-French also purpille, French pourpre = Provencal porpra, polpra = Spanish púrpura = Portuguese purpura = Italian porpora = Dutch purper = Middle Low German purper, purpur = Old High German purpura, Middle High German purper, German purpur = Icelandic purpuri = Swedish Danish purpur = Gothic (Moesogothic) paurpaura, paurpura, purple, from Latin purpura, the purple-fish, purple dye, from Greek πορφύρα, the purple-fish; cf. πορφύρεος (later also poetical πόρφυρος), purple, orig. applied to the surging sea, dark, prob. redupl. of φύρειν, mix up, mingle, confound, = Latin furere, rage: see fury. Cf. porphyry, from the same Greek source.
  2. from purple, adjective
 

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/ˈpərpl/
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