purple

[ pur-puh l ]

/ ˈpɜr pəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR purple ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any color having components of both red and blue, such as lavender, especially one deep in tone.

cloth or clothing of this hue, especially as formerly worn distinctively by persons of imperial, royal, or other high rank.

the rank or office of a cardinal.

the office of a bishop.

imperial, regal, or princely rank or position.

deep red; crimson.

any of several nymphalid butterflies, as Basilarchia astyanax (red-spotted purple), having blackish wings spotted with red, or Basilarchia arthemis (banded purple or white admiral), having brown wings banded with white.

adjective, pur·pler, pur·plest.

of the color purple.

imperial, regal, or princely.

brilliant or showy.

full of exaggerated literary devices and effects; marked by excessively ornate rhetoric: a purple passage in a novel.

profane or shocking, as language.

relating to or noting political or ideological diversity: purple politics; ideologically purple areas of the country.

verb (used with or without object), pur·pled, pur·pling.

to make or become purple.

Idioms for purple

born in/to the purple, of royal or exalted birth: Those born to the purple are destined to live in the public eye.

Origin of purple

before 1000; Middle English purpel (noun and adjective), Old English purple (adjective), variant of purpure < Latin purpura “kind of shellfish yielding purple dye, the dye, cloth so dyed” < Greek porphýra; cf. purpure, porphyry

OTHER WORDS FROM purple

pur·ple·ness, noun

Words nearby purple

purlin, purlin plate, purloin, purpart, purparty, purple, purple bacteria, purple beech, purple boneset, purple chokeberry, purple emperor

Example sentences from the Web for purple

Here and there, sparingly, one of the dolls might be purple or green: “Rainbow Piets,” they call them.

Dutch Try to Save Santa’s Slave |Nadette De Visser |December 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Worse, when Richman woke up the next morning, her entire ear was purple.

‘My Crazy Love’ Reveals the Craziest Lies People Tell for Love |Kevin Fallon |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
So, Mrs. Shattuck printed out a cheer resume on purple paper and, as is her way, bedazzled the paper with rhinestones.

From Baltimore Ravens Cheerleader to Mrs. Robinson |Brandy Zadrozny |November 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
That room—the cold, the purple light, the demonic transformations: it really haunts you.

Scorsese’s Scariest Movies of All Time |Martin Scorsese |October 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The other, similarly designed, uses a golden fabric as its base for the purple sequins.

The Best-Dressed Way to Say Goodbye |Justin Jones |October 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It is produced by combining a blue or purple with red when a compound colour is used.

Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I |Arnold Cooley
She sat with clenched hands and set teeth before her dead grate, and the purple veins swelled and throbbed in her temples.

A Book of Ghosts |Sabine Baring-Gould
The skin was covered with purple wales, crossing each other like the arteries in an anatomic plate!

The Maroon |Mayne Reid
The haire of thy head like purple, the King is bound in the Galleries.

A Discovrse of Fire and Salt (A Discourse of Fire and Salt) |Blaise de Vigenre
In the purple caverns of the temple she suddenly became conscious of another presence.

The Adventures of Kathlyn |Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for purple

purple

/ (ˈpɜːpəl) /

noun

any of various colours with a hue lying between red and blue and often highly saturated; a nonspectral colour

a dye or pigment producing such a colour

cloth of this colour, often used to symbolize royalty or nobility

the purple high rank; nobility

the official robe of a cardinal
the rank, office, or authority of a cardinal as signified by this

the purple bishops collectively

adjective

of the colour purple

(of writing) excessively elaborate or full of imagery purple prose

noble or royal

Derived forms of purple

purpleness, noun purplish, adjective purply, adjective

Word Origin for purple

Old English, from Latin purpura purple dye, from Greek porphura the purple fish ( Murex)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

purple

noun

adjective, pur·pler, pur·plest.

verb (used with or without object), pur·pled, pur·pling.

Idioms for purple

Origin of purple

OTHER WORDS FROM purple

Words nearby purple

Example sentences from the Web for purple

British Dictionary definitions for purple

noun

adjective

Derived forms of purple

Word Origin for purple

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

purple

noun

adjective, pur·pler, pur·plest.

verb (used with or without object), pur·pled, pur·pling.

Idioms for purple

Origin of purple

OTHER WORDS FROM purple

Words nearby purple

Words related to purple

Example sentences from the Web for purple

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for purple

noun

adjective

Derived forms of purple

Word Origin for purple

British Dictionary definitions for purple