purple

Pronunciation: /ˈpəːp(ə)l/

Translate purple | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

Definition of purple

noun

[mass noun]

1a colour intermediate between red and blue:the painting was mostly in shades of blue and purple
purple clothing or material.

2 (also Tyrian purple) a crimson dye obtained from some molluscs, formerly used for fabric worn by an emperor or senior magistrate in ancient Rome or Byzantium.
(the purple) (in ancient Rome or Byzantium) clothing made from fabric dyed with Tyrian purple.
(the purple) (in ancient Rome) a position of rank, authority, or privilege:he was too young to assume the purple
(the purple) the scarlet official dress of a cardinal.

adjective

of a colour intermediate between red and blue:a faded purple T-shirt

verb

make or become purple in colour: [no object]:Edmund’s cheeks purpled [with object]:the neon was purpling the horizon above the highway

Phrases

born in (or to) the purple: born into a reigning family or privileged class: the hero, Simba, is born to the purple

Derivatives

purpleness
purplish
purply

Origin:

Old English (describing the clothing of an emperor), alteration of purpre, from Latin purpura 'purple', from Greek porphura, denoting molluscs that yielded a crimson dye, also cloth dyed with this

purple in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of purple in the US English dictionary

Subscriber login

Library card login

Other

purple

noun

adjective

verb

Phrases

born in (or to) the purple

Derivatives

purpleness

purplish

purply

Origin:

purple in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

More results for purple

Word of the day

kempt