# purple

Pronunciation: say "PUR-puhl" US /ˈpɝ.pl̩/, UK /ˈpɜː.pl̩/

## Adjective

1. Having a purple hue; of a color between red and blue.
   - Simple: Having a color between red and blue, like grapes or violets.
   - _Purple storm clouds gathered over the mountains before the rain._
   - _His fingers were purple from the cold by the time he got inside._
4. Not predominantly Republican red or Democratic blue, but having a mixture of support from both parties. *(US)*
   - Simple: Having a mix of voters from both big US political parties.
   - _Pennsylvania remains a purple state where presidential races are decided by narrow margins._
   - _Suburban districts have grown more purple as voting patterns shift._
5. Extravagantly ornate in style; overwritten, as in purple prose.
   - Simple: Written in a way that is too fancy and full of big words.
   - _Editors trimmed the manuscript's purple passages before publication._
   - _Her purple description of an ordinary sunset ran on for three pages._
6. Imperial or regal; associated with the rank of emperors and royalty.
   - Simple: Connected with emperors and royal families.
8. Combining social democratic and liberal parties, as in a coalition government.
   - Simple: Describing a government formed by both social democratic and liberal parties together.
   - _The Netherlands experimented with purple cabinets through much of the 1990s._
   - _After the election, social democrats and liberals agreed to form a purple coalition._
9. Blood-red in color; stained or covered with blood. *(literary)*
   - Simple: Dark red, like fresh blood.

## Noun

2. A color between red and blue, such as violet or magenta.
   - Simple: A color made by mixing red and blue.
   - _The sunset faded from orange into a rich purple._
   - _She wore purple to the graduation ceremony._
3. Robes dyed purple and worn as a sign of high rank, especially by emperors or cardinals, and the rank or power they stand for.
   - Simple: The purple robes of emperors or cardinals, or the high rank and power they show.
   - _Byzantine emperors reserved the purple for themselves and their heirs._
   - _When the general seized power, he wrapped himself in the purple before the assembled legions._
11. Short form of purple drank: a drink of prescription cough syrup containing codeine, mixed with soda and often hard candy. *(slang, US)* — Ellipsis of purple drank.
   - Simple: Short for purple drank: a drink made by mixing codeine cough syrup with soda.
   - _He mixed purple in a foam cup the way the old songs described._
   - _The song talks about sipping purple from a foam cup all night._
12. A mixed drink of lager, cider, and blackcurrant cordial, known for its dark purple color. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: A British drink made of lager, cider, and blackcurrant cordial.
   - _The bartender pulled them two pints of purple._
   - _A round of purple left the whole table giggling._

## Verb

7. To become purple, or to make something purple by dyeing or covering it in purple.
   - Simple: To turn purple, or to make something purple.
   - _The hills purple in the evening light at this time of year._
   - _His face purpled with embarrassment when everyone turned to look._
10. To dress or cover in purple garments.
   - Simple: To dress someone in purple clothing.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A kush-family cannabis cultivar with violet coloring, or by extension any smoked marijuana.
- (adjective) Of a lap or sector, completed in the fastest time recorded so far in the current session.
- (noun) A butterfly of the genus Limenitis, such as the red-spotted purple, usually marked with purple or blue iridescence.
- (noun) The medical condition purpura, in which bleeding under the skin produces purplish spots or patches.
- (noun) Any of various sea snails, such as murex or the dog whelk, that give a purple dye like Tyrian purple.
- (verb) Of young people, especially at Christian summer camps, to mingle or flirt with the opposite sex.
- (noun) A disease of wheat, also known as earcockle, that deforms the grain.

## Origin

The word goes back to Ancient Greek porphúra ("purple-fish"), a word that may be of Semitic origin, which became Latin purpura ("purple dye, shellfish"). Old English took this as purpure ("purple color"), formed the adjective purpul from it, and Middle English carried it on as purple. The "imperial power" sense comes from emperors and kings wearing purple.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/purple (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).