English Explanatory Dictionary

purple

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A colour between red and blue; violet, though often closer to magenta.
  2. Any non-spectral colour on the line of purples on a colour chromaticity diagram or a colour wheel between violet and red.
  3. Cloth, or a garment, dyed a purple colour; especially, a purple robe, worn as an emblem of rank or authority; specifically, the purple robe or mantle worn by Ancient Roman emperors as the emblem of imperial dignity.
  4. Imperial power.
  5. Any of various species of mollusks from which Tyrian purple dye was obtained, especially the common dog whelk.
  6. The purple haze cultivar of cannabis in the kush family, either pure or mixed with others, or by extension any variety of smoked marijuana.
  7. Purpura.
  8. Earcockle, a disease of wheat.
  9. Any of the species of large butterflies, usually marked with purple or blue, of the genus Basilarchia (formerly Limenitis).
  10. A cardinalate.
  11. Ellipsis of purple drank.
  12. Synonym of snakebite and black.
adj
  1. Of a purple hue.
  2. Not predominantly red or blue, but having a mixture of Democrat and Republican support.
  3. Mixed between social democrats and liberals.
  4. Imperial; regal.
  5. Blood-red; bloody.
  6. Of language, extravagantly ornate, like purple prose.
  7. Of a sector, lap, etc., completed in the fastest time so far in a given session.
verb
  1. To turn purple in colour.
  2. To dye purple.
  3. To clothe in purple.
name
  1. A surname from Middle English.

Pronunciation

/ˈpɜː.pl̩/ /ˈpɝ.pl̩/ en-us-purple.ogg /ˈpøːpl̩/ /pʌɾpl̩/ /peːpl̩/ /pɛːpl̩/

Word forms

purple purples purpler more purple purplest most purple purpling purpled

Etymology

From Middle English purple, purpel, from Old English purpul (“purple”, adjective), taken from Old English purpure (“purple colour”, noun), from Latin purpura (“purple dye, shellfish”), from Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra, “purple-fish”), perhaps of Semitic origin. Doublet of purpura and purpure. The sense of "imperial power" is from the wearing of the color purple by emperors and kings.

Synonyms

blue-red snakebite and black purpureal flowery overwrought

Antonyms

nonpurple

Related words

porphyrogenite porphyrogeniture purpure rhodopsin secondary color

Derived words

American purple gallinule aniline purple bee purple bepurple blurple born in the purple born to the purple bromcresol purple bromocresol purple Chinese purple common purple-glossed snake early-purple orchid empurple flying purple people-eater flying purple people eater French purple Han purple impurple line of purples liseran purple Okinawan purple potato once in a purple moon palatinate purple Perkin's purple purple airway purple-backed fairywren purple-backed sunbeam purple-backed thornbill purple bacteria purple-banded sunbird purple bar purple-bearded bee-eater Celebes bee-eater purple beech purple-bellied lory purple bird purple box purple-breasted cotinga purple-breasted sunbird purple-capped fruit dove purple cochoa purple copper ore purple coral purple-crested turaco purple-crowned fairy purple-crowned fairywren purple-crowned fairy-wren purple death purple dye murex purple emperor purple everlasting purple finch purple-fish purple gallinule purple-gaped honeyeater purple gas purple glory-of-the-sun purple-glossed snake purple glossy starling purple glove syndrome

Translations

Afrikaans: pers Akan: pɛpol Albanian: vjollcë Arabic: بَنَفْسَجِيّ Arabic: أُرْجُوَانِيّ Arabic: بنفسجي غامق Arabic: موف Arabic: بنفسجي Arabic: نهدي Arabic: ليلكي Aragonese: purpurenco Armenian: ծիրանի Asturian: moráu Asturian: púrpura Azerbaijani: tünd qırmızı Azerbaijani: bənövşəyi Basque: gorrindol Bengali: রক্তবর্ণ Bengali: বেগুনী Breton: limestra Bulgarian: пурпурен Burmese: ခရမ်းရောင်နု Catalan: porpra Catalan: púrpura Chechen: шекъан бос Chechen: лилула-сийна Cherokee: ᏕᎷᎨ Chichewa: wofiirira Chinese Cantonese: 紫色 Chinese Mandarin: 紫色 East Circassian: шакъафэ Cornish: glasrudh Cornish: purpur Cornish: rudhlas Montagnais: kaiapitshiminet Czech: purpurový Czech: fialový Danish: lilla Danish: violet Danish: purpur Dutch: paars Dutch: purper Esperanto: purpuro Estonian: lilla Estonian: purpurne Faroese: korkalitur Faroese: purpur Faroese: purpurlitur Fijian: lokaloka Finnish: purppura French: violet French: pourpre Saterland Frisian: sangen West-Frisian: pears Galician: morado Georgian: მეწამული Georgian: ძოწეული Georgian: იისფერი German: lila German: purpur German: violett Greek: πορφυρό Ancient Greek: πορφύρεος Ancient Greek: πορφυροῦς Ancient Greek: ἁλουργής Gujarati: જાંબુડિયું Gujarati: જાંબલી Haitian Creole: mov Albanian: llullaq Albanian: vjollcë Amharic: ሃምራዊ Arabic: أُرْجُوَانِيّ Arabic: بَنَفْسَجِيّ Belarusian: фіяле́тавы Bulgarian: виоле́тов Bulgarian: пу́рпурен Bulgarian: мо́рав Catalan: porpra Catalan: purpuri Chichewa: chofiilira Chinese Mandarin: 紫色 Chinese Mandarin: 紫 Chinese Mandarin: 紺 /绀 Cornish: glasrudh Cornish: purpur Czech: nachový Czech: purpurový Danish: lilla Dutch: paars Dutch: purperen Esperanto: purpura Estonian: purpurne Finnish: sinipunainen Finnish: violetti Georgian: იისფერი Georgian: იასამნისფერი Georgian: მოწითალო-მოლურჯო Georgian: მოვარდისფრო-მოიისფრო German: purpurn German: purpurrot Greek: πορφυρός Greek: βιολετής Greek: μοβ Haitian Creole: mov Haitian Creole: vyolèt Hebrew: סָגֹל
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