1. [n]  a chromatic color between red and blue
2. [n]  of imperial status; "he was born to the purple"
3. [adj]  of a color midway between red and blue
4. [adj]  made purple especially as with suffused blood; "empurpled with rage"; "purple with suppressed anger"
5. [adj]  belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler; "golden age of imperial splendor"; "purple tyrant"; "regal attire"; "treated with royal acclaim"; "the royal carriage of a stag's head"
6. [adj]  excessively elaborate or showily expressed; "a writer of empurpled literature"; "many purple passages"; "speech embellished with classical quotations"; "an over-embellished story of the fish that got away"
7. [v]  color purple
8. [v]  become purple

Purple
Purple

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1. \Pur"ple\, n.; pl. {Purples}. [OE. purpre, pourpre, OF.
   purpre, porpre, pourpre, F. pourpre, L. purpura purple fish,
   purple dye, fr. Gr. ? the purple fish, a shell from the
   purple dye was obtained, purple dye; cf. ? dark (said of the
   sea), purple, ? to grow dark (said of the sea), to be
   troubled; perh. akin to L. furere to rage, E. fury: cf. AS.
   purpure. Cf. {Porphyry}, {Purpure}.]
   1. A color formed by, or resembling that formed by, a
      combination of the primary colors red and blue.
            Arraying with reflected purple and gold The clouds
            that on his western throne attend.    -- Milton.
   Note: The ancient words which are translated purple are
         supposed to have been used for the color we call
         crimson. In the gradations of color as defined in art,
         purple is a mixture of red and blue. When red
         predominates it is called violet, and when blue
         predominates, hyacinth.
   2. Cloth dyed a purple color, or a garment of such color;
      especially, a purple robe, worn as an emblem of rank or
      authority; specifically, the purple rode or mantle worn by
      Roman emperors as the emblem of imperial dignity; as, to
      put on the imperial purple.
            Thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of
            fine twined linen, and purple, and scarlet. --Ex.
                                                  xxvi. 1.
   3. Hence: Imperial sovereignty; royal rank, dignity, or
      favor; loosely and colloquially, any exalted station;
      great wealth. ``He was born in the purple.'' --Gibbon.
   4. A cardinalate. See {Cardinal}.
   5. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of large butterflies, usually
      marked with purple or blue, of the genus {Basilarchia}
      (formerly {Limenitis}) as, the banded purple ({B.
      arthemis}). See Illust. under {Ursula}.
   6. (Zo["o]l.) Any shell of the genus Purpura.
   7. pl.(Med.) See {Purpura}.
   8. pl. A disease of wheat. Same as {Earcockle}.
   Note: Purple is sometimes used in composition, esp. with
         participles forming words of obvious signification; as,
         purple-colored, purple-hued, purple-stained,
         purple-tinged, purple-tinted, and the like.
   {French purple}. (Chem.) Same as {Cudbear}.
   {Purple of Cassius}. See {Cassius}.
   {Purple of mollusca} (Zo["o]l.), a coloring matter derived
      from certain mollusks, which dyes wool, etc., of a purple
      or crimson color, and is supposed to be the substance of
      the famous Tyrian dye. It is obtained from Ianthina, and
      from several species of Purpura, and Murex.
   {To be born in the purple}, to be of princely birth; to be
      highborn.
   

2. \Pur"ple\, a.
   1. Exhibiting or possessing the color called purple, much
      esteemed for its richness and beauty; of a deep red, or
      red and blue color; as, a purple robe.
   2. Imperial; regal; -- so called from the color having been
      an emblem of imperial authority.
            Hide in the dust thy purple pride.    --Shelley.
   3. Blood-red; bloody.
            May such purple tears be alway shed.  --Shak.
            I view a field of blood, And Tiber rolling with a
            purple blood.                         --Dryden.
   {Purple bird} (Zo["o]l.), the European purple gallinule. See
      under {Gallinule}.
   {Purple copper ore}. (Min.) See {Bornite}.
   {Purple grackle} (Zo["o]l.), the crow blackbird. See under
      {Crow}.
   {Purple martin}. See under {Martin}.
   {Purple sandpiper}. See under {Sandpiper}.
   {Purple shell}. See {Ianthina}.
   

3. \Pur"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Purpled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Purpling}.]
   To make purple; to dye of purple or deep red color; as, hands
   purpled with blood.
         When morn Purples the east.              --Milton.
         Reclining soft in blissful bowers, Purpled sweet with
         springing flowers.                       -- Fenton.