purple Hear it!

purple Definition

pur·ple (pʉr′pəl)

noun

  1. a dark color that is a blend of red and blue
  2. Now Rare
    1. deep crimson
    2. cloth or clothing of such color: an emblem of royalty or high rank

Etymology: ME purpel < OE (Northumbrian) purpl(e), dissimilated var. of WS purpur(e) < L purpura, purple < Gr porphyra, shellfish yielding purple dye

adjective

  1. of the color purple
  2. imperial; royal
    1. ornate or elaborate in literary style: usually used pejoratively purple prose
    2. profane or obscene purple language

transitive verb, intransitive verb -·pled, -·pling

to make or become purple

purple Idioms

born to the purple

or born in the purple

being of royal or high birth

the purple

royal or high rank

purple Synonyms

purple

modif.

purplish, purply, purpled, reddish blue, bluish red; see also red, blue 1.

Hues of purple include: lilac, violet, mauve, heliotrope, magenta, plum, lavender, orchid, grape, puce, pomegranate, royal purple, Tyrian purple, Indian purple, dahlia purple, wine, solferino.

purple Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

turn: The lines had immediatly turned a dark purple on her leg.

Modifies a noun

  • moor-grass: They then move back to lay eggs in the bases of purple moor-grass stems.
  • loosestrife: Purple loosestrife, which bears purple flower spikes between June and August.
  • robe: Evangelist: Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe.
  • heather: We pride ourselves, too, in our purple heather.
  • hue: The wine is crimson with purple hues at the rim.
  • prose: Lily Allen, Alright, Still Britain's new pop darling justifies all the purple prose.

Modifying Another Word

  • deep: The flower color varies from white through to very deep purple.
  • pretty: Three very pretty purple shells with persistent comet trails exploded overhead ( video clip 1 below ).
  • almost: I noticed that the leaves have developed a dark almost purple stain, like rust over them.
  • then: First blue, then pink, then purple and gold mixed together.
  • even: Neat rosettes of rounded fleshy leaves are produced, sometimes green, blue-green or even purple.

Used with adjective complement

  • turn: Answer " Love life " and her love meter will turn purple.
  • paint: It would be like insisting all houses should be painted purple.
  • look: What looks gray on your PC might look purple on your neighbor's.
  • include: Other identities appearing inside MEP include purple ( 13 ), with small clusters in the southwest and southeast.
  • have: Andy says: This donut has purple in the middle.
  • appear: Please be warned that the Gibson site shows the guitar to appear purple!

Preposition: in

color: The typical rash seen in meningococcal disease is purple in color, looking somewhat like a bruise.

Preposition: with

spot: The bell-shaped 5-petalled flowers are purple with brown spots, 5 cm across, and appear in clusters of 10-15 in May.