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purpleadj.n. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: purpure n. Etymology: Alteration of purpure n., with dissimilation of liquid consonants (compare marble n., marble adj.). Compare Middle High German purpul, Swedish purpul (18th cent.).For purpure n. the noun use was original, the adjectival use being later and derivative; but its alteration purple appears first in adjectival use, and is not attested as a noun until the end of the 14th cent. By the end of the 17th cent. purple had supplanted purpure as noun and adjective in all but specialized heraldic use. The adjectival use of purple arose from the Old English noun (purpure n.); the Old English (Northumbrian) purple hrægle (see quot. OE at sense A. 1a) apparently showing, like the purpre reaf of the Hatton Gospels (see quot. c1200 at purpure adj. 1a), a weakened form either of the Old English genitive singular purp(u)ran ‘of purple cloth’, or of the derivative adjective purpuren : see discussion at purpure n. and adj. In sense A. 1a corresponding to classical Latin purpureus (see purpureous adj.), ancient Greek πορϕύρεος (see porphyre n.). With sense A. 3 compare earlier purpurate adj. 2, and also classical Latin purpureus pannus (see purple patch n.). A. adj. 1. the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [adjective] > deep red or crimson OE (Northumbrian) xix. 5 Exiit ergo iesus portans spinieam coronam et purpuream uestimentum : eode forðon ðe hælend berende ðyrnenne beg & purple hrægle fellereode wede [OE Lindisf. þæt purbple hrægl uel þæt felleread uoede, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. purpuren reaf, c1200 Hatton purpre reaf]. a1275 St. Margaret (Trin. Cambr.) l. 107 in A. S. M. Clark (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 34 Ciclatoun ant purpel [a1450 Bodl. purpure] pal scaltou haue to wede. c1330 (?a1300) (Auch.) (1973) 6657 (MED) Gold and siluer and purpel pelles..þe paiens þer hadden late. c1390 King of Tars (Vernon) 358 in (1889) 11 42 In cloþ of riche purpel palle. a1439 J. Lydgate (Bodl. 263) vi. 123 (MED) Thou hast..Spared [not] ther crownys nor ther purpil weedis, Ther goldene sceptris. a1500 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Lansd.) 631 in (1934) ii. 565 His purpil [v.r. purpul] mantil, his garnement roiall. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. clxxijv He consecrated Anthony..Cardinall of Medone, setting vpon his head a purple hatte. 1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius (1899) I. 49 In his apparel he was noted for singularity, as who used to goe in his Senatours purple studded robe, trimmed with a jagge or frindge at the sleeve hand. 1670 J. Milton ii. 87 His Purple Robe he [sc. Alectus] had thrown aside, lest it should descry him. 1755 E. Young Centaur i, in (1757) IV. 110 As the Jews arrayed our blessed Lord in a purple robe, to mock him. 1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in II. xxi. 144 Telemachus..Cast off His purple cloak. 1841 R. W. Emerson 1st Ser. (Boston ed.) vi. 164 I see well that for all his purple cloaks I shall not like him, unless he is at last a poor Greek like me. 1865 S. Evans 43 They..Laid by the sceptre, and crown, and ball, And the golden robe and the purple pall. 1910 I. 471/2 Alaric..set up a rival emperor and invested the prefect of the city, a Greek named Attalus, with the diadem and the purple robe. 1962 W. G. Hardy 86 The senators, the ruling class, alone had the right to wear a tunic with a broad purple stripe... The second order, the knights..wore a tunic with a narrow purple stripe. 1991 (Nexis) 14 Nov. a1 In 1953,..Cardinal Leger became one of the youngest ‘princes of the church’, kneeling before Pope Pius XII in Rome to receive the cardinal's purple robe. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [adjective] > of imperial or royal rank 1635 F. Quarles ii. xv. 122 Dogs (far kinder than their purple Master). 1664 H. More 280 This Head of the Roman Hierarchy with his purple Cardinals are so Emperour-like and of such a Senatorious splendour. a1704 T. Brown tr. A. Sylvius Death Lucretia in (1708) III. ii. 87 Shou'd my passive Body be pregnant by the purple Villain. 1753 T. Gray Hymn to Adversity in 24 Purple tyrants vainly groan. 1826 W. H. Drummond 66 'Tis the thunder that shakes purple tyrants with dread. 1896 H. Belloc July in 1954 6 The Purple Kings and all their mounted men..fill the street with clamorous cavalcade. 1946 E. Merriam 22 We are the purple prince, haughty and handsome, Loving ourself. 2. the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [adjective] the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > [adjective] 1415 Inventory in (1918) 70 93 (MED) Vnum vestimentum simplex de serico puppull [perh. read purpull] lineatum de Tartaryn de eodem colore. c1425 (Bodl. 296) Exod. xxv. 4 Purpul [a1425 Royal Ȝe schulen take gold, and siluer, and bras, iacynt and purpur and reed silk]. 1436 in F. J. Furnivall (1882) 107 (MED) Y wol that Thomas Rothewell haue myn Prymour & myn purple goune furred with martrons. a1500 in A. Zettersten (1968) 28 (MED) Þe Amatiste is a purpill colour & shynynge. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas i. iii. 95 The Violets purple, the sweet Roses stammell. 1696 J. Aubrey (1784) 117 This Stranger was in a purple-shag gown. 1747 W. Gould 45 A liquid tenacious Humour, in the midst of which is a small Purple or black Consistence, that contains or gives Life to the future Ant. 1792 S. Rogers i. 71 When purple evening tinged the west. 1810 W. Scott iii. 103 Heath-bell, with her purple bloom. 1879 O. N. Rood ii. 28 In the prismatic spectrum and in our normal spectrum we found no representative of purple, or purplish tints. This sensation..needs the joint action of the red and violet waves, or the red and blue. 1925 J. Conrad i. i. 3 The open water too had a glassy look with a purple sheen. 1984 S. Steward & S. Garratt vii. 147/1 You can..still enjoy watching your father turning purple with anger over his effeminacy. 2001 (Nexis) 21 June c4 A swipe of aluminum chloride at each prick point stopped any bleeding and erased..the purple dot. the world > life > death > obsequies > formal or ceremonial mourning > [adjective] > of mourning colour society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [adjective] > colour symbolizing penitence 1466 Inventory in (1887) 50 38 (MED) Item, j nothir purpyll chesebyll for gode fryday. ?1495 J. Lydgate St. Petronilla (Pynson) l. 119 in (1911) i. 158 With purple wede to the heuenly mancyon Hir soule went vp the last day of May. 1542 Inventory in (1887) 50 46 Item a vestement purpull silke for good frydaye. a1624 Bp. M. Smith (1632) 146 Robes of scarlet, or purple, for depriments and detriments. a1739 C. Jarvis tr. M. de Cervantes (1747) III. ii. vi. 236 A venerable old man, clad in a long mourning cloak of purple bays. 1853 5 Oct. 1/5 We saw the funeral of a young maiden. At the head of the procession was a priest dressed in white and purple robes. 1868 W. B. Marriott 174 The vestments..oftentimes..are purple, in times of fast, because of our mourning in respect of sin. 1910 I. 234/1 In the Roman Catholic church Advent is still kept as a season of penitence... Purple vestments are worn in the church services. 1987 M. Dorris (1988) xii. 208 Father Hurlburt came back, dressed this time in his cassock and purple vestments. 2006 (Nexis) 24 Mar. b5 Black and purple bunting was draped from the Clubhouse as a symbol of mourning. the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > [adjective] > red the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [adjective] > stained > stained or smeared with blood 1590 E. Spenser ii. vi. sig. R6 A large purple stream adown their giambeux falles. 1595 W. Shakespeare v. vi. 64 See how my sword weepes for the poore kings death. Now maie such purple teares be alwaies shed, For such as seeke the downefall of our house. 1605 sig. Diiv And by that slaue this purple act was done. 1653 Duchess of Newcastle 185 [His] blood run warm, and trickling down his side, That where he stood, the grasse was purple dy'd. 1713 A. Pope 18 There purple Vengeance bath'd in Gore retires. 1768 T. Gray Triumphs of Owen in 104 Where he points his purple spear, Hasty, hasty Rout is there. 1805 W. Scott i. x. 15 When Mathouse burn to Melrose ran, All purple with their blood. 1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in 91 A thought came like a full-blown rose, Flushing his brow, and in his pained heart Made purple riot. 1878 M. Foster (ed. 2) ii. ii. §3. 267 Venous blood of a dark purple or maroon colour. 1904 R. Brooke Pyramids in (1970) 191 So wind the nations in long pageant by, Over a pathway..Foul-stain'd and purple with the blood that's shed..For dreams of ‘Empire’. the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > and splendid society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > [adjective] > extremely wicked > specifically of actions or qualities society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [adjective] 1598 Queen Elizabeth I tr. Horace De Arte Poetica in (1899) 142 Oft to beginnings graue and shewes of great is sowed A purple [L. purpureus] pace, one or more for vewe. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals ii, in tr. Virgil 8 All the Glories of the Purple Spring. 1748 T. Gray Ode in R. Dodsley II. 265 The rosy-bosom'd hours..wake the purple year! 1848 C. Dickens li. 510 Although this is but a dry reply to the Major's purple enthusiasm, the Major receives it graciously. 1872 J. S. Blackie Introd. 51 Places once flaunting with purple prosperity. 1894 20 Dec. 3/2 Who should I see..having a purple time of it but Padishah and Potter. 1905 19 May 6/3 You had one purple moment in your life—a sackful of coins, and scrambling them among boys. 1941 W. H. Auden ii. 37 And yet to show complete conviction, Requires the purpler kinds of diction. 1975 C. N. Manlove iii. 78 One [style] is ‘purple’ and highly emotive. 1990 22 Apr. 26/4 I have a purple passion for it [sc. my work]. 2002 (transcript of TV programme) (Nexis) 20 May In the 2000 election year of red states or blue, Florida was purple. It is up for grabs, in play, a toss-up state, ergo a high traffic area for politicians. 2003 9 Feb. aa2/3 Moderates locally and nationally are searching for a new purple agenda. 2004 (Nexis) 2 Feb. I don't think it's a red or blue state... I think it's a purple state. 2008 W. Frey in R. Teixeira iii. 105 Political analysts should not lose their focus on still powerful, slow-growing purple states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Missouri. 2011 O. J. Rodriguez 120 The middle-of-the-road ‘purple’ voter typically has only an extreme choice—either scarlet red or indigo blue. B. n. 1. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > of specific colour c1390 in F. J. Furnivall (1901) ii. 689 (MED) I-put he [sc. Job] was in pore array, Nouþer in purpul ne in pal, But in symple wede. a1450 (Richardson 44) (1884) 17 (MED) When þey entred yn, there come aȝenst hem..þe company of martirs clothed alle in purpul wyth reed roses vppon here hedes. a1500 (a1460) (1897–1973) 94 (MED) All wroght thay sylk to fynd them on; Marie wroght purpyll, the oder none bot othere colers sere. 1526 W. Bonde iii. sig. eii The ryche Glotton..whiche was clothed in Purpull and clothe of Reynes. 1579 E. Spenser July 173 Yclad in purple and pall. 1648 Bp. J. Hall 50 The rich glutton..clothed in purple, and byss. 1682 J. Bunyan Greatness of Soul in (1853) I. 136 He could tend to do nothing but to find out how to be clothed in purple and fine-linen. 1765 J. Otis 12 His less faithful and less loyal fellow-servant is well fed, plump, gay, and cloathed in purple & scarlet & fine linnen. 1792 C. Smith II. 124 His very servants cloathed in purple and fine linen, and testifying, by their looks, they fare sumptuously every day. 1850 ‘S. Yendys’ i. 6 She wraps the purple round her outraged breast. 1894 W. E. Gladstone tr. Horace ii. xviii No well-born maidens, my poor doors within, Laconian purples spin. 1931 J. Buchan (1933) x. 221 He asked no reward. He did not seek..purple and fine linen. 1957 K. Rexroth (1968) 31 The leper king lies in a bed all Covered with purple and pall. 1965 Autumn 70 No ceremony is complete without the presence of the sacrist (or sacrists) robed in purple, with a tricorne hat trimmed with gold upon his head. 1994 25 Apr. 28/2 Moon is the first marquee quarterback in purple since Fran Tarkenton retired in 1979. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [noun] c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) v. 2527 (MED) Pirrus..gan anon to araie hym newe, Al in purpil, whiche, as clerkes telles, Is for kynges & for no wyȝt elles. 1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Ded. sig. aaijv No lesse confoundinge the order of thinges, then he whiche cloteth an ape in purple, & a king in sackecloth. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden i. 271 Constantine..laid aside the purple and..became a Priest. 1698 J. Crowne ii. 16 Princes are slaves in purple, slaves in grain. 1728 E. Chambers at Mourning The antient Spartan and Roman Ladies mourn'd in White;..Kings and cardinals mourn in Purple. 1776 E. Gibbon I. xiv. 400 As soon as Diocletian and Maximian had resigned the purple. 1818 W. Hazlitt 327 The line of distinction which separates the regal purple from the slabbering-bib, is sometimes fine indeed. 1865 2 Dec. 1/3 The emperor was on his throne,..sceptre in hand, a crown on his head, and robed in imperial purple. 1903 ‘M. Field’ iii. p. xli (stage direct.) Caracalla throws open the door. He wears the purple & a crown of gold rays. 1960 A. Duggan vii. 126 Eutychianus found the Emperor an apt pupil, because he was teaching him real things, things which would help him to hold the Purple. 1970 28 Sept. 7/4 Rural India returned to the purple with a bang in the 1967 general elections. A prince on a platform meant thousands of votes. 2004 S. J. Leinbach tr. F. Meijer vii. 124 In the last weeks of his life Constantine no longer wore the imperial purple and the diadem, but went about in the white garment of the ‘newborn’. society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > cardinal > [noun] > office of 1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti iii. iii. 304 Without Bribery, or Subornation, he had attain'd to the dignity of the Purple. 1695 No. 3046/1 We are told that the present Duke of Modena..intends to quit the Purple, and to send back his Cardinals Cap to the Pope. 1753 S. Richardson VI. iv. 12 Celibacy in the Clergy is an indispensable law of your church: Yet a Cardinal has been allowed to lay down the purple, and marry. 1783 W. Thomson in R. Watson & W. Thomson vi. 414 The necessity of exchanging the ease of former familiarity for those ceremonies of respect which were due to the purple... The presence of the cardinal was uneasy to him. 1818 88 227 The Pope..sent him to the Court of Spain, during which Nunciature he was promoted to the purple. 1898 L. Villari tr. P. Villari (new ed.) II. vi. 237 He was raised to the purple. 1913 W. Ward (ed. 3) I. iii. 102 The death of Leo XII. prevented his elevation to the purple. 1949 8 Feb. 8/4 Prosecutor Elapi said Cardinal Mindszenty..had committed ‘horrible crimes’ regardless of whether he wore ‘the purple of a cardinal or is clad in rags’. 1992 (Nexis) 11 Apr. ii. 24 A Cardinal..presented himself to the magnificent panoply of his peers to be welcomed and blessed and chanted and enrobed into the purple. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [adjective] > royally born society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [phrase] > born after father's accession 1681 tr. E. Scholasticus Epiphaniensis vi. xxiv. 526/2 (note) The most noble Theodosius was born in purple on the third year of Mauricius's Empire. 1703 D. Williamson 54 I cannot but lament the unhappy fate of the Princes who are born in purple, and bred in Luxury. 1788 E. Gibbon (1790) IX. xlviii. 57 In the Greek language purple and porphyry are the same word:..an apartment of the Byzantine palace was lined with porphyry: it was reserved for the use of the pregnant empresses: and the royal birth of their children was expressed by the appellation of porphyrogenite, or born in the purple. 1827 H. Hallam II. x. 125 [Richard Cromwell] would probably have reigned as well as most of those who are born in the purple. 1884 Labouchere in Feb. 208 True Liberals who have not had the good fortune to be born in the Whig purple. 1937 O. St. J. Gogarty (1989) 239 I was not born to the purple. 1963 F. C. Crews 104 No doubt when you have been born to the purple and never had to do a day's honest work, you prefer worshipping frivolousness to facing the eternal moral questions. 1994 19 Sept. 40/3 The hero, a young lion named Simba, is born to the purple. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > [noun] a1439 J. Lydgate (Bodl. 263) i. 5773 (MED) Adonydes..lay slayn..Whom Venus turned to a ful fressh flour Which was as blood, lich purpil off colour. a1475 (a1447) O. Bokenham Mappula Angliae in (1887) 10 8 (MED) Muskellis, wherein be fovndene noble margarites of alle-maner colovres, as red, purpulle, Jacinctyne, & prassyne. 1535 Song of Sol. vii. 5 The hayre of thy heade is like the kynges purple folden vp in plates [R.V. tresses]. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1593) v. sig. Qq3 Not that purple which we now haue..but of the right Tyrian purple, which was neerest to a cullour betwixt our murrey and skarlet. a1649 W. Drummond (1711) 131 As the Rose, at the fair appearing of the Morning Sun, displayeth and spreadeth her Purples. 1673 M. Lister Let. 25 Oct. in H. Oldenburg (1975) X. X. 304 The parenchymous juices of ye Roots of red Carrots & Beets, are of as deep a Purple as those contained within ye Parenchyma of ye berries of ligustrum. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil 337 The Victor honour'd with a nobler Vest: Where Gold and Purple strive in equal Rows. 1720 J. Ozell et al. tr. R. A. de Vertot I. vii. 422 The first Prætor of Rome..was allowed the Prætexta, or Robe edged with Purple. 1774 O. Goldsmith V. 347 Their plumage is glossed with a rich purple. 1815 Ld. Byron i His cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold. 1873 ‘S. Coolidge’ xiii. 275 Painted in soft purples and grays. 1927 V. Woolf i. xvii. 163 Her eyes had been going in and out among the curves and shadows of the fruit, among the rich purples of the lowland grapes. 1950 5 Aug. 7/5 Vygies or sour figs..blossom in a wide range of colours—scarlet, blue, purple, pink or flaming yellow. 1992 Mar. 61/1 The colour was officially announced as royal purple but is called simply purple in the Gibbons' catalogues. 3. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > [noun] > spot of > purple spot (Harl. 221) 417 Purplys [?a1475 Winch. Purplus], sorys, morbuli purpurei dicuntur. ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 100v A Pvrpyll, pabula [1483 BL Add. 89074 papula]. c1490 in (1878) 9 343 (MED) Yf yt [sc. the potion] be drokyn be-fore eny pvrpyl a-pere, By þe grase of god ther schall be no perell of no dethe. 1755 S. Johnson Purples (without a singular) spots of a livid red, which break out in malignant fevers. 1899 7 Feb. 305/1 He believed that it had been the cause of much of the mortality previously ascribed to gaol fever and ‘malignant fever with purples’. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > eruptive diseases > [noun] > purpura ?1515 (de Worde) sig. B.iijv God punyssheth..with grete sekenesse As pockes pestylence, purple and axes. ?1537 T. Elyot iv. vi*. f. 79 Whan they [sc. children] waxe elder, thanne be they greeued with..purpyls, measels, and smalle pockes. 1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac II. 194 I am glad at heart to heare the Duke of Feria is dead of the Purples. 1660 A. Wood (1891) I. 349 It is thought it is the spotted feaver or purples. 1730 T. Fuller ii. 377 Upon the Purples appearing the Doctor gave..some Alexipharmacs... They all recovered. 1772 J. Gough tr. J. M. B. de la M. Guyon II. 33 My daughter had the small-pox and the purples. 1866 A. Flint 857 The term purpura, or the purples, denotes an affection characterized by a truly petechial eruption, or petechiæ. 1906 6 186 [To treat] Purples.—Remove the skin of a tender red coconut and insert in it a pill. 1973 T. Pynchon i. 115 She..lives nearby at the home of a Mrs. Quoad, a lady widowed long ago and since suffering a series of antiquated diseases—greensickness, tetter, kibes, purples, imposthumes. the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > caused by insects > associated with crop or food plants 1807 A. Young I. vii. iv. 302 Purples..a distemper in wheat which I had never before heard of. 1890 E. A. Ormerod (ed. 2) 104 ‘Cockle-galls’, or ‘Purples’, are the small roundish or distorted growths, sometimes found in Wheat which give an appearance to the ear much as if purplish or dark coloured peppercorns had taken the place of Wheat grains. 1926 F. D. Heald xxviii. 833 Nematode disease of wheat... In England it is commonly called ‘purples’, because of the color of the galls and also ‘false ergot’. the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of pigs > [noun] 1867 13 July 39/1 For the past eighteen months ‘purples’ has been very rife among pigs... I think there is much resemblance between this disease and human purple fever. 1887 1 Feb. 9/6 Swine fever..being known in different parts of Great Britain by the names of pig typhoid, pig distemper, purples, swine plague [etc.]. 1905 6 May 1214/1 During the period of this epidemic a somewhat similar disease called ‘purples’ was said to have been rife amongst pigs. 1967 H. Hill & E. Dodsworth (ed. 7) 40 Swine Fever. Known as ‘Red Soldier’ ‘Purples’, or ‘Hog Typhoid’. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > purple dye or pigment > [noun] the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > red colouring matter > [noun] > dyes and dyestuffs > crimson from murex 1519 W. Horman viii. f. 81v Scryueners write with blacke, redde, purple, gren blewe or byce. 1596 J. Davies sig. C2 The bashfull bride, Which blusheth like the Indian Iuorie Which is with dip of Tyrian purple died. 1656 A. Cowley Davideis iii. 112 in The Purple of the Ancients was taken out of a kind of Shell-fish called Purpura. 1686 W. Cole (title) Purpura Anglicana, being a Discovery of a Shell-fish Found on the Shores of the Severn, in which there is a Vein containing a Juice, giving the delicate and durable Tincture of the Antient, Rich, Tyrian Purple. 1705 tr. 188 The less of these ingredients is used, the blewer and darker will the Dye be the same may be said of Grey Purples and Violets. 1782 W. Nicholson II. 224 A beautiful purple powder, called the purple powder of Cassius, which is of use in enamels.] 1803 (Royal Soc.) 93 312 By recent muriate of tin we have, with a solution of gold, the well known purple of Cassius. 1815 J. Smith II. 751 Deep Prussian blue and lake..form a purple of the next degree of excellence. 1880 20 Nov. 368/3 Carminic acid and Tyrian purple. 1963 J. Osborne (ed. 5) xxii. 412 ‘Purple of Cassius’ is used to produce the pink gum colour. 1992 28 341/3 Heating magenta dyestuffs..could give new dyes—such as the phenylated rosanilines, Regina purple..and Bleu de Lyons. the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Thaididae > member of genus Purpura (purple) 1580 C. Hollyband Pourpre,..a shell fish called a Purple. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. 306 Purples also be caught by means of some stinking bait. 1682 T. Creech tr. Lucretius vi. 215 The Purple's blood gives Wool so deep a stain That we can never wash it out again. 1715 tr. G. Panciroli I. i. i. 5 The Tyrians, by taking away the Shells of the greater Purples, do come at that noble Juice. 1755 Jan. 32/2 It belongs to yet another tribe, and is a Purple. 1856 P. H. Gosse vi. 66 The central part..is the pasture-ground of the Purples (Purpura lapillus), whose massive white shells may be seen stuck over the Mussels and Barnacles. 1901 E. Step 254 The Purple (Purpura lapillus), commonly known as Dog-winkle, and in Ireland as Horse-winkle, is one of the commonest of marine snails. 1990 53 99/3 Dyeings made solely with sea purples are called conchylia by Pliny. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > names applied to various flowers 1604 W. Shakespeare iv. vii. 141 Therewith fantastique garlands did she make Of Crowflowers, Nettles, Daises, and long Purples. 1702 131 There is Floras Ward-robe that Cloaths all the Subjects of her gay and green Dominion, the Flowers, Purples, Violets, Lillies, Daffodilles..[etc.]. 1840 R. Browning v. 295 Plucking purples in Goito's moss. 1905 18 Nov. 1198/1 I took his bunch of purples, and I charmed his heart away. the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > [noun] a1631 J. Donne Hymne to God in (1635) 388 May the last Adams blood my soule embrace. So, in his purple wrapp'd receive mee Lord. 1804 R. Couper II. 61 Tibb snyted Madge's muckle nizz, Till out the purple sprang. 8. society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > moral or spiritual impurity > indecency > [noun] 1930 D. H. Lawrence 9 I should show the public that here is a fine novel, apart from all ‘purple’ and all ‘words’. 1958 E. A. Robertson iii. 33 A well-known outside contributor from whose copy he had, in his own words, ‘subbed the purple’. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > hallucinogenic drug > LSD the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > stimulant drug(s) > specific stimulant drugs 1968 C. Drummond v. 112 I heard her on at the Doc..about some Purples to key them up but he hit the ceiling. 1971 E. E. Landy 156 Purple, LSD. Compounds C1. Compounds of the adjective. a. (a) Parasynthetic. Frequently in the names of animals and plants. 1829 E. Griffith et al. VII. 483 Purple-backed Maccaw. 1903 3 36 Malurus assimilis (Purple-backed Wren)..not uncommon on coast and inland. 1925 W. J. Bryan & M. B. Bryan ii. iv. 246 This oration we found in an old purple-backed notebook written in a cramped, boyish hand. 2005 (Nexis) 10 Nov. e15 A phenomenal number of the purple-backed swallows..had drifted far from their summer habitat in Texas and New Mexico. 1732 (Royal Soc.) 37 174 Ligustrum Lauri folio, fructu violaceo. The purple-berried Bay. 1868 M. Collins I. 241 The golden-fruited and purple-berried leafage. 1964 11 Oct. 24/3 When fences are embroidered with crimson- and purple-berried woodbine and the mountain tops are a haze of leaf color. 2008 J. Kellum 66 (caption) The fruit browns as it ages. This isn't a problem of the native purple-berried species. 1833 W. G. Simms 148 If yon purple-coated cloud wins my eye and kindles my fancy, let me survey it. 1906 3 July 1/3 The scarlet- or purple-coated seminarists pause for breath. 2006 (Nexis) 29 Jan. 96 They spot him on the road home, walking along with a purple-coated old lady. 1746 J. Blackstone 51 Purple crested cow-wheat. 1881 O. Wilde 215 White-shielded, purple-crested rode the Mede. 1912 17 Sept. 18/1 Twenty-five purple-crested Odd Fellows, directed by several red or white-crested officers. 1992 D. Lessing 148 Birds swooped about, notably the purple-crested lourie, with its creaking fateful cry. 2005 D. L. Wagner 47 The sting of the Purple-crested Slug is mild. 1829 E. Griffith et al. VIII. 90 Purple-crowned Pigeon. 1957 59 85 Heliothrix barroti. Purple-crowned Fairy. One male with a fairly short tail was collected on August 14. 2003 Apr.–May 58/1 The noisy rainbow and purple-crowned lorikeets..are often spotted dancing about when the eucalyptus flower. 1787 1 35 Purple-eyed Succory-Hawkweed... Miller..improperly describes the centre of the flower as black. 1877 May 897/2 Pale, pale primroses, and daisies pied, And violets, purple-eyed, that peep between. 2005 (Nexis) 31 July l6 Its yellow flowers are purple-eyed. They are all pretty. There really is no such thing as a bad verbascum. 1771 T. Pennant p. xvi Dog-faced Monky..Lion-tailed..Ouanderou..Purple-faced..White. 1841 C. J. Lever lxxxviii A large purple-faced old major. 1958 R. Garnett tr. B. Heuvelmans iv. 94 This description probably refers to the purple-faced langur of Ceylon (Kasi vetulus). 2001 18 Jan. 28/3 The unlovely former MP threw a purple-faced hissy fit. 1629 J. Parkinson 301 This purple flowred Vipers grasse hath long and narrow leaues. 1732 R. Bradley (ed. 2) 171 The purple-flowered Kind I suppose are received with the more Pleasure. 1846 D. J. Browne 22 (heading) Magnolia purpurea, The Purple-Flowered Magnolia. 1992 27 Oct. a10/1 Seedlings of..yellow-flowered alfalfa grow about as vigorously as most commercial varieties of the far more common purple-flowered alfalfa. 2010 J. Phelan vii. 255 Crosses that entailed the fertilization of plants with purple flowers by pollen from other plants with purple flowers produced mostly purple-flowered offspring. 1866 S. H. Bradbury 41 Send the purple-hearted June, With its flushed and mellow eves! 1910 25 Mar. 6/5 The minute purple-hearted blossoms. 1992 P. Robinson vi. 87 The flimsy-petalled, purple-hearted poppies. 2012 F. Dunlop (2013) 328/3 This vegetable (Amaranth tricolor)..has thin stems with a profusion of small purple-hearted leaves. a1475 ( J. Lydgate (1911) i. 174 This daysye, with leves rede and white, Purpul hewed. 1598 W. Shakespeare ii. i. 75 None of these mad mustachio purplehewd maltworms. View more context for this quotation 1866 15 Sept. 136 It was just at the close of a delicious, purple-hued Autumn afternoon that she welcomed Ichabod home. 1906 37 208 Their colour is a little more purple-hued than that of the Egyptians. 2006 (Nexis) 12 Apr. e1 A purple-hued puree of red beans and walnuts is enhanced with chopped parsley, mint, and dill. 1748 W. Lewis tr. 39 Labdanum... The gum of the purple-leaved Cretan ladaniferous cistus. 1883 29 June 611/2 The seed of the purple-leaved variety of Berberis vulgaris..reproduced the purple-leaved peculiarity to an extent which it could not do more perfectly if the variety were a true species. 1971 17 June 1521/3 The purple-leaved filbert..responds well to stooling. 2001 S. A. Roth 273 This small tree [sc. the purple-leaved plum] is one of the most cold-hardy purple-leaved plants available. 1869 Oct. 303 One thin hand lifted to shield her weary purple-lidded eyes. 1914 A. Lowell 233 The purple-lidded night Westering comes, her footsteps light. 2000 (Nexis) 14 June 22 The waste company..has admitted that separating the materials in that pretty purple-lidded bin is a joke. 1590 W. Clever 93 They are also purple-nosed and hayrie about the breast. 1868 ‘Radical Freelance’ ix. 203 ‘That reminds me’, said a lanky, purple-nosed individual, who looked like a 'longshoreman, ‘that I actially see one on 'em myself’. 1913 J. Conrad i. i. 8 He envied the purple-nosed old cab-drivers on the stand. 2002 P. A. Huchthausen i. 48 A wire that locked the hand plate on the upper front of the purple-nosed torpedo. 1832 W. C. Bryant (new ed.) 157 Purple-skirted clouds curtain the crimson air. 1960 W. H. H. Norman tr. A. Ryùonosuke in D. Keene xix. 331 He clutched his purple-skirted knee with both hands. 1993 30 Mar. a4 A Cinderella purple-skirted ballgown with a matching short jacket. 1714 (Royal Soc.) 28 205 Purple spiked Willowherb... The flowers purple, and are thickset in long spikes with round pointed Capsules. 1822 S. Clarke II. 260 Purple-spiked Milk Vetch. 1997 19 July d2 The herb garden is a visual treat, with purple-spiked meadow sage and gold-leafed oregano. 1596 R. Johnson x. 90 By that time the purple spotted morning had parted with her gray. 1688 R. Holme 106 At the tops stand many small single Flowers close set together, which in some are white, others purple spotted in the middle. 1788 J. Woodforde 8 July (1927) III. 36 To Mr. Aldridge for 6 Yards of purple spotted Cotton. 1880 June 66 The swamp-cabbage flower..peers above the ground beneath his purple spotted hood. 1952 A. G. L. Hellyer (ed. 22) 277 L[ilium]..daliense, white, purple-spotted. 1996 R. Mabey 291/2 Hemlock's purple-spotted stems often exceed six feet in height. 1878 T. Hardy Return of Native ii. vii, in Apr. 268 A dense brake of purple-stemmed brambles had grown to such vast dimensions as almost to form a dell. 1923 30 Nov. 450/1 The injury affected both green-stemmed and purple-stemmed plants. 1995 23 Aug. f1/4 Plates of salad greens on Vietnamese tables inevitably include rau que, the purple-stemmed licorice variety. 1825 C. Waterton ii. 114 The little forked-tail purple-throated humming-birds. 1961 O. L. Austin 203/2 The smaller 11-inch Purple-throated Fruit-crow ranges from Costa Rica southward through the Amazon region. 2003 25 Apr. 545/3 A bizarre sexual dimorphism occurs in the purple-throated carib hummingbird. 1759 P. Miller at Turnep The round red or purple topped turnip. 1845 J. W. Ord 153 Lovely is the prospect, rich and rare, Wild and subdued,—black heath all purple-topped. 1905 122 Humphrey reports it [sc. crucifer mildew] growing on purple topped white turnips. 2005 (Nexis) Sept. Purple-topped wine caps spring up locally in wood chip piles but don't take well to traditional seasonings. 1862 J. G. Whittier in Apr. 423 Purple-zoned, Wachuset laid His head against the West. 1891 May 641 No tongue has any name For the despair I saw enthroned In my love's eyes, all purple-zoned! 2000 (Nexis) 23 Jan. For pots and containers, try the following varieties: ‘Cherry Orbit’ (intense red blooms and purple-zoned foliage); [etc.]. (b) Modifying colour words to form adjectives and nouns. See also purple-red n. and adj.1610 W. Baldwin et al. in (new ed.) Induction sig. Civ At length appeared clad in purple blacke Sweete Somnus. 1688 R. Holme ii. xii. 264/2 The feathers of the upper surface of the Wings are of a shining purple black. 1727 J. G. Scheuchzer tr. E. Kæmpfer v. 514 A very beautiful sort of an Adiantum..with shining purple black stalks. 1849 21 July 120/2 She had..beautiful silken hair, of that purple black which poets call hyacinthine. 1868 G. MacDonald II. 44 Purple-black heartseases, and thin-filmed silver pods of honesty. 1925 38 135 A purple-black seed, in appearance very like an ox-heart cherry. 1958 7 Sept. 28/1 Grapes, in cool greens or juicy purple-blacks..are piled high in brass bowls. 2002 E. A. Gargan viii. 258 I watched the slow bruising of the eastern sky, a purple-black swelling on the horizon mushrooming into gray breakers. 1633 T. Johnson (new ed.) ii. 764 The floures stand forked in the tops of the branches like those of dead Nettle, or of Clarie, of a purple blew colour. 1728 R. Bradley at Crocus vernus luteus versicolor alter The three outer Petals are striped..with a paler, Purple-blue, shining Colour. 1845 J. R. Lowell in 2 Aug. 122/3 Far away on Katahdin thou towerest, Purple-blue with the distance. 1922 31 July 9/6 Jade green always looks well and allows of purple-blue or peacock trimmings. 2003 May–June 62/3 Clematis×durandii with abundant purple-blue flowers thrive in congregations of rustic tuteurs, some as tall as 14 feet. 1870 x. 507/2 The glittering iridescence of the insect's wings, or the gold and purple bronze which glistens on its armor. 1958 14 June 2/3 The stems and veins of the leaves are tinted a purple-bronze. 1992 H. Mitchell vi. 144 The plant has leaves the size of salad plates borne on stems a foot high or so, and they are oily, glossy green flushed with purple-bronze. 1693 N. Staphorst tr. L. Rauwolf Trav. Eastern Countries i. ix, in J. Ray I. 105 Between them sprout out purple-brown Flowers. ?1735 II. 146 The purple Brown is the ripest, the bright White coming out of some of the Top Seed-Vessels is next. 1835–6 I. 553/1 A..layer of a dark purple-brown pigment. 1868 H. Alford 350 The gleaming trunks give place in the distance To the rich purple brown of the winter trees in the sunlight. 1932 R. Kipling 309 Area by area, she was painted with dazzle-patterns of greenish-yellow and purple-brown. 2003 23 Mar. 26/4 Ayahuasca..is a DMT-rich drug that looks like purple-brown spit. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. 91 Shell fishes that yeeld the purple crimson colour. 1688 R. Holme ii. vi. 108/2 Wood-earth Nuts, of a purple crimson. 1800 431 Lake being of rather a purple crimson, is more transparent than Carmine. 1891 A. Austin (ed. 4) iv. 291 She had but caught From this weird hour the purple-crimson glow. 1955 10 June 10/5 The foliage is a deep purple crimson from spring until fall. 2006 (Nexis) 13 May 49 Youthful purple crimson colour displaying sweet blackberry fruit, pepper and mint spiciness on the nose. 1864 W. J. Courthope 14 The green-leaf palace 'neath her sober wing Grows purple-dark. 1928 V. Woolf vi. 243 The wine-blue purple-dark hill. 1986 O. P. Adisa in S. Brown (1990) 3 He wanted to be purple-dark like the rest of them so his face wouldn't turn red like the colour of sorrel fruit whenever he got angry. 1707 J. Pechey (ed. 2) 151/1 It has..Leaves like those of Sweet-Marjoram, but broader and greater, of a purple green Colour. 1858 23 Dec. It was quite as bad as Mr. Tittlebat Titmouse's predicament about his purple-green hair. 1940 B. 129 235 The stems are purple and leaves purple green. 2005 (National ed.) 17 Mar. d6/3 Tatsoi, kyona mizuna and Osaka purple, a tangy mustard green with a sturdy purple-green leaf, are a few of the many Asian greens being offered this year. 1793 J. Leslie tr. Comte de Buffon IV. 360 He found that the Purple-gray Cotinga is the young bird, and that it takes at least eighteen months to acquire its full colour. 1879 30 Aug. The gathering dusk..was falling in a purple-grey vail of tissue over wood and lawn. 1930 J. Dos Passos 147 Purplegray murk rose steadily. 1996 G. Ward i. 24 The staple food was poi , a purple-grey paste produced by pounding the root of the taro plant. 1797 G. Humphreys 23 Cream-coloured ground with circular marbled and dotted bands of purple pink. 1856 ‘G. Eliot’ in J. W. Cross (1885) I. vii. 401 The Corallina officinalis..with its purple-pink fronds. 1884 10 Oct. 352/1 The petals were..pale green, edged with purple-pink, in color. 1964 M. Hynes (ed. 8) 484 A colony subcultured on to the medium gives a purple-pink colour from NH3 production in 2–8 hours. 1997 J. Updike 135 A weeping cherry tree..making its annual splash of purple-pink against the chilly white of a star magnolia. 1856 W. Gibbs & F. A. Genth in (1857) 9 v. 19 The crystals exhibit a remarkable dichroism, the ordinary image being of a fine purple rose color, while the extraordinary image is a bright orange red. 1882 22 July 65/2 Varying in colour from a deep purple-rose to a delicate rose-pink. 1928 S. F. Harrison 2 Rhodora's clusters purple-rose in hue. 2006 (Nexis) 13 Apr. (Post Homes section) 4 The foliage of this particular variegated variety..changes from marbled bronze-red and pinkish-white to purple-rose in the fall. 1882 2 Sept. 207/3 Agaricus violaceus, a splendid purple-yellow, growing among dead leaves. (c) Adverbial. 1760 F. Fawkes tr. Anacreon Odes in tr. Anacreon lxiv. 4 Safely shroud Me in a purple-beaming Cloud. ?1760 J. Langhorne 30 While Beauty's Parent gilt the rosy Morn, Play'd on the Stream, or purple-beaming Flower. 1715 N. Rowe iv. i. 46 Thus gloomy Ghosts, whene'er the breaking Morn Gives notice of the chearful Sun's Return,..shrink before the Purple-dawning East. 1991 S. Sohmer Patriots in (Nexis) 17 July e4 In the purple dawning light, the mottlings of his years lay on his cheek and brow like coats of tempera. 1884 N. F. Davin 11 Comes with shining robes the Morning, Orange-tinted, purple-glowing. 1917 W. M. Salter xiii. 155 He waits for..astronomers of the ideal who will reveal to us purple-glowing constellations. 1996 Nov. 19/2 She ‘inadvertently’ reveals the hidden picture of a sickly emaciated hand clutching an obscure purple-glowing ‘object’. 1813 W. Bingley (ed. 4) III. 465 The purple-staining whelk. 1899 28 342 The pollen grains at first are quite small, and possess thin purple-staining walls. 1985 1 July b15/3 For decades the standard medical treatment for a yeast infection was painting the vagina with gentian violet—a messy, purple-staining medication. 2004 (Nexis) 1 Apr. He has fruit trees like..duhat tree which always yielded plenty of the bitter-sweet and purple-staining fruit. 1595 S. Daniel ii. cxxii. sig. M2v Her fieldes engrain'd with bloud, her riuers dide With purple streaming wounds of her owne rage. 1622 P. Hannay 222 As the ruddy bashfull Morne Did leave Dan Phoebus purple streaming bed,..I to my fairest Coelia's chamber sped. 1727 J. Thomson 19 The Purple-streaming Amethyst is thine. a1817 F. Sayers (1830) 158 O give me oft to view Thy purple-streaming light. 1899 J. Davidson 53 The lickerish crowd agape to dip their mouths In purple-streaming agony. 1617 B. Jonson (1640) II. 19 Favonius, father of the Spring,..Had rowsd him here, and shooke his feathers, wet With purple swelling Nectar. 1791 M. Robinson I. 14 There I'll press from herbs and flow'rs Juices..Whose magic potency can..thro' the purple swelling vein With subtle influence steal. b. (a) In names of animals characterized by a purple or purplish colouring. 1887 R. B. Sharpe Suppl. Pl. 38 Zodalia Ortoni. Quito Purpleback. 1735 in E. Albin (1738) III. Pl. 84 (caption) Porphyrio. The Purple Bird. 1852 G. Bush 104/1 The Sept[uagint] renders this by πορϕυριωνα, the purple bird, a bird very famous among the ancients for the beauty of its plumage. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Fringillidae (finch) > [noun] > subfamily Carduelinae > genus Carpodacus (rose-finch) 1862 J. Richardson et al. 364/2 The Purple Bullfinch (Carpodacus purpureus) is of a deep-crimson colour, with the wings and tail black, and the belly white. 1864 T. C. Jerdon III. 714 The Purple Coot is found throughout all India and Ceylon. 1959 8 18 An essential character..is a single character enabling the species to be recognized by it alone, e.g..., the violet plumage (corpus violaceum) of the purple coot (F. Porphyrio). 1889 at Crow2 n. Purple crow, one of several species or conspecies of small lustrous crows of the East Indies and Papua. 1859 S. G. Goodrich II. 625 There are the various kinds [of sea urchin] called..the Common Egg-Urchin, Echinus sphæra.., the Purple Egg-Urchin, E. lividus, [etc.]. 1890 Purple-egg, a common sea-urchin, Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Nymphalidae > subfamily Ithomiinae > genus Apatura > apatura iris (purple emperor) 1742 B. Wilkes Pl. 6 (caption) The Purple Emperour Butterfly, taken in the Fly State. 1766 M. Harris 6 I was confirmed in my Opinion of its being the Purple Emperor, by observing that the square Points of the under Wings projected beyond the rounded Extremity of the upper ones. 1810 G. Crabbe viii. 110 Above the sovereign Oak, a Sovereign skims, The purple Emp'ror, strong in Wing and Limbs. 2000 Jan. 17/2 We took the civil servants and consultants to Bernwood Forest to show them the purple emperor butterflies bombing about. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Fringillidae (finch) > [noun] > subfamily Carduelinae > genus Carpodacus (rose-finch) 1731 (Royal Soc.) 36 431 Fringilla purpurea, the purple Finch. 1876 J. Burroughs i. 31 Those purple finches..are they not stealing our berries? 2000 24 Jan. i. 1/1 Outside the window, purple finches..and bright red cardinals peck at the seed he has set out. the world > animals > birds > order Gruiformes > [noun] > family Rallidae (rail) the world > animals > birds > order Gruiformes > [noun] > family Rallidae (rail) > porphyrio porphyrio (swamp hen) 1782 T. Martyn 12 (table) Gallinule. [Species:] Common. Purple. 1814 A. Wilson & G. Ord IX. 71 The Purple Gallinule [was seen] in a thick swamp, a short distance from Savannah, Georgia. 1888 IV. 131 The purple-gallinules..typified by the European species (Porphyrio porphyrio) and the American Ionornis martinica. 1909 W. Verner ii. i. 99 I have..been startled by the curious cry of the big Purple Gallinule. 1960 in 53 147 (title) The American Purple Gallinule breeds in the southern and south-eastern United States. 1782 J. Latham I. 462 Purple Grakle. 1811 A. Wilson IV. 30 The Red-winged Starlings..are..sometimes associated with the Purple Grakles. 1999 (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 3) 438 Smaller ‘Purple Grackle’, quiscula of the southeast, has a narrow bill, purple head, bottle green back, and blue tail. the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) > genus Ardea (heron) > miscellaneous types of 1785 J. Latham III. i. 96 Purple H[eron]... Size of the common H[eron]. 1837 J. Gould IV. Pl. 274 The food of the Purple Heron consists of fish, frogs, mice, and insects. 1995 2 Dec. 52/1 A purple heron is a splash of colour and grace on the edge of a marsh. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Hirundinidae > genus Delichan (house-martin) > other types of 1731 (Royal Soc.) 36 432 Hirundo purpurea, the purple Martin. 1812 A. Wilson V. 62 The Purple Martin, like his half-cousin the King-bird, is the terror of Crows, Hawks, and Eagles. 1998 25 Oct. (Culture section) 8/5 The purple martin no longer nests in natural sites, but is dependent on a million US citizens for its accommodation. the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > genus Calidris > calidris maritima (purple sandpiper) 1802 G. Montagu at Sandpiper—Purple Purple Sandpiper. 1860 S. F. Baird I. 717 The purple sandpiper..is frequently met with on the shores of the Atlantic. 1996 Mar. (Cairngorms Suppl.) 14/2 Rarities such as purple sandpipers and Lapland bunting nest occasionally. 1874 A. E. Verrill & S. I. Smith 112 The purple sea-urchin, Arbacia punctulata, is..quite common in many localities. 1900 Apr. 369/1 The purple sea-urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpurotus [sic])..is abundant on the west coast from La Paz, Mexico, to Alaska. 1971 D. Nichols & J. A. L. Cooke 178 Psammechinus (Purple Sea-urchin). This hardy little urchin lives under rocks and overhangs. the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Holostomata > family Ianthinidae > member of genus Ianthina 1675 E. Sherburne in tr. M. Manilius 22 He finding on the Sea-shore an empty Murex or purple shell, is said to have wound it like a Horn. 1736 S. Humphreys tr. N. A. Pluche III. 12 The most full of Prickles among these last Kinds, as the Purple-Shell.., are of those whom the Ancients called Purples, or Purple-Fishes. 1850 I. Leeser tr. J. Schwarz 197 Cheifa..was called Purpureon during the dominion of the Greeks and Romans, because the purple shell was often found and taken in the vicinity. 1885 I. 325 (caption) Ianthina, purple shell, with the float supporting the eggs. 2001 55 352 Purple shell fishing was carried on in many fishing grounds along the coast of the Peloponnese.., Euboea, [etc.]. 1949 51 204 A Palau resident which I happened not to find is the Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio. 1982 R. Ellis 124 Purple Swamphens strutted like large bantams along mud banks. 2000 18 Feb. ii. 20/2 Bill also catches sight of the purple swamphen, a giant version of the moorhen with some very odd eating habits. 1781 J. Latham I. 315 Purple-tailed Parrakeet. 1855 P. H. Gosse I. 61 The Purple Urchin (E[chinus] lividus) excavates hollows for itself in limestone rock, in which it resides. 1931 19 421 The most conspicuous animal form is Paracentrotus lividus (Lam.), the spiny purple urchin. 1962 43 309/1 The purple urchin, Arbacia punctulata.., has a range from Yucatan to southern New England. the world > animals > birds > order Gruiformes > [noun] > family Rallidae (rail) > porphyrio porphyrio (swamp hen) 1790 Nat. Hist. in J. White App. 238 To this genus belongs..a very beautiful exotic species called the Purple Water-hen, which is the Fulica porphyrio of Linnæus. 1883 A. Newton in XVI. 808/2 Allied to all these is the genus Porphyrio, including the bird so named by classical writers, and perhaps a dozen other species often called Sultanas and Purple Water-hens. 1930 W. M. Mann App. i. 320 Porphyrio caeruleus (Purple water hen). the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Thaididae > member of genus Purpura (purple) 1681 N. Grew i. vi. i. 129 The Purple-Wilk with long plated Spikes. 1816 (Royal Soc.) 106 307 It somewhat resembles the secretion obtained from the buccinum lapillus, or purple whelk. 1879 V. 263/1 Purpura, a genus of Gasteropodous Molluscs..represented by the Common Purple Whelk (P. lapillus) of the British coasts. 1937 18 198 Thais emarginata, the purple whelk, bores through the mussel shells and extracts the soft parts. (b) In the names of plants having purple flowers, leaves, etc. 1722 T. Fairchild 36 The Great Purple Amaranth, or Princes Feather, will make a large Plant, if it likes the Ground. 1769 J. Dicks at Leaf The leaves of the purple amaranth, whose upper surfaces were next the water, continued fresh three months. 1935 22 532 Amaranthus paniculatus... Purple Amaranth. 2002 (Nexis) 28 Mar. b5 Dan Jason recommends the purple amaranth..and advises using the succulent, nutty young leaves raw for the first few weeks and then using the plants as a source of cooking greens. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tropical or exotic fruit-tree or -plant > of tropical America > sweet-sop tree 1754 P. Miller (ed. 4) s.v. Guanabanus Guanabanus fructu purpureo. Plum. Nov. Gen. The Purple-apple. 1788 J. Lee (ed. 4) App. Purple apple, Annona. 1792 (Dicksons & Co., Edinburgh) 68 Fagus..purpurea... Purple beech tree. 1906 33 81 Not infrequently in the purple beech the young leaves will be of a distinct purplish-red color and almost entirely free from chlorophyl. 2005 (Nexis) 5 Aug. e7/1 I love purple beech for its aubergine leaves, which turn bronze in late summer. 1732Purple-berried Bay [see purple-berried adj. at Compounds 1a(a)]. 1767 W. Stork 3 The Purple-berried Bay is called by Catesby a Ligustrum..but Dr. Solander says it is a species of olive: it is a beautful evergreen tree. 1943 33 196 Bay, purple berried..devilwood (Osmanthus americana). the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > other mosses 1650 W. How 33 Cyanus purpureus multiflorus, Ger. double purple Bottles. Variat flore albo. 1796 W. Withering (ed. 3) III. 792 S. ampullaceum..Purple Bottle-moss. 1934 Purple bottle, any moss of the genus Splachnum, esp. S. ampullaceum, in which the flask-shaped apophysis is highly colored. 1797 J. E. Smith VI. 423 Orobanche cærulea. Purple Broom-rape. 1996 (Nexis) 7 Oct. (Home News section) Proposed improvements to the dock threaten the nationally rare yarrow or purple broom rape. 1548 W. Turner sig. B.iv They call it in Englishe red mathes, alij, red mayde wed, alij, purple camomyle. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > other composite flowers 1848 A. Gray 223 Echinacea, Mœnch. Purple Cone-flower. 1939 Aug. 220/2 Striking contrast is provided by some of the most brilliant flowers of the prairie notably..the purple coneflower, the butterfly milkweed.., and the prickly pear. 1989 26 Aug. 20/2 If every Australian took extracts of the echinacea plant—commonly known as the purple cone flower—then absenteeism from colds and flu would be halved. 1752 C. Alston 67 Purple Cow-wheat. Usu. Herb. Melanthium. 1800 J. E. Smith II. 652 Melampyrum arvense..Purple Cow-wheat. 1962 H. Kamen tr. B. Pasternak 63 Purple cow-wheat, gold Saint John's wort, Rosebay, thistle, camomile—As though enchanted by a spell They gaze on her. 1754 R. Brookes 222 With a pentapetaloide flower... Money-wort or Herb-two-pence, purple-flowered Money-wort, round-leaved Water Pimpernel [etc.] 1800 T. Garnett I. 268 A considerable part of the skirts of Dun-y is covered with the Anagalis tenella, or purple-flowered money-wort. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > gromwell 1775 R. Weston 98 Lithospermum..officinale purpureum... Purple-flowered Gromwell.] 1783 W. Curtis 95 Lithospermum purpuro-cæruleum. Gromwell purple. 1912 J. W. White 436 Purple Gromwell—Native; in woods and thickets, on limestone. 1979 34 294/2 For the sake of a single shoot Of purple gromwell, I look upon All the grasses of Musashino With fondness. 1794 T. Martyn tr. J. J. Rousseau (ed. 4) xxvi. 390 The gardens have a purple African groundsel from the Cape; an annual plant with a yellow disk, and purple rays.] 1794 7 238 Senecio Elegans. Purple Groundsel, or Ragwort. 1852 (Royal Soc.) 142 513 Among petals, the most remarkable I have observed are those of the purple groundsel. 1988 C. J. Webb et al. IV. 273 Purple groundsel is sometimes cultivated for its attractive capitula especially in coastal localities. 1657 J. Beale 53 Ashes we find excellent to beget the white and purple Honeysuckle. 1767 xviii. 103 Great Clover... That is best which is brought from Flanders, and bears the great red or purple honeysuckle. 1851 XIX. 14 Some of the timber-trees bear fruit; others rich clusters of flowers, like the purple honeysuckle. 1906 The purple honeysuckle or azalea is Rhododendron nudiflorum. 1997 H. L. Flint (ed. 2) 343/2 ‘Purpurea’ (Hall's purple honeysuckle, Kansas purple honeysuckle) has purple tinted foliage and flowers that are dark red-purple on the outside. 2000 M. J. Eberhart 185 In some small coves here, and blooming very early, are the flame azaleas and the pinxter flower (purple honeysuckle). 1757 P. Miller (ed. 11) 260 Plants now in Flower in the Pleasure-Garden... Purple Jacobæa. 1789 W. Aiton III. 193 Elegant Groundsel, or Purple Jacobea. Nat[ive] of the Cape of Good Hope. 1890 at Ragwort Purple Ragwort, the purple jacobæa, Senecio elegans, a handsome garden species from the Cape of Good Hope. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > lilies 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens ii. xliii. 202 The red purple Lillie..Some call the greatest kinde Martagon. 1775 tr. 191 A receipt to dye marble, or alabaster, in blue or purple. 1. Pound together, in a marble mortar, parsnips and purple lilies, with a sufficient quantity of white-wine vinegar. 1884 W. Miller 228/1 Patersonia, Purple Lily, or Native Flag, of Australia. 2005 3 Apr. d1/4 Yellow daffodils and purple lilies all blossoming in the spring sunshine. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > loosestrife and allied flowers 1548 W. Turner sig. E.ijv Lysimachia purpurea..may be called in englishe red loostryfe, or purple losestryfe. 1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau xx. 284 Purple Loosestrife is a handsome plant. 1861 R. Bentley ii. iii. 538 Lythrum Salicaria, Purple Loosestrife, is a common British plant. 2002 13 May 61/2 Herbariums are used..to track the march of invasive species like purple loosestrife, which clogs lakes in the upper Midwest. 1793 T. Martyn III. §76 It [sc. yellow medick] may probably turn out not to be superior to the purple Medick or Lucern. 1915 F. S. Harris & G. Stewart xxi. 257 It [sc. Alfalfa] is Arabic and means best fodder... A few of the other names are Mexican clover.., purple medick, cultivated medicago [etc.]. 1974 I. 230/3 Alfalfa, also called lucerne and purple medic, a perennial clover-like plant (Medicago sativa) of the pea family. 1776 W. Withering I. 48 Ropegrass with a simple nodding panicle, and the blossoms not fringed—Panicle red... Purple melic grass... In the Isle of Rasa they make this grass into ropes for fishing nets. 1804 C. Smith II. 108 In a few short months..Would velvet moss and purple melic rise. 1937 S. F. Armstrong (ed. 3) 136 Molinia cœrulea, Mœnch. (Purple Melick-grass, Flying Bent)... This plant is common on damp moors, peaty soils, woods, etc. in Britain. 1737 P. Miller (ed. 3) s.v. Astragalus English Purple Milk-Vetch of the Mountains. 1918 W. Graveson (1919) xiv. 120 The Purple Milk Vetch growing on these downs has similar growth..to that of the Horse-shoe Vetch. 2005 (Nexis) 9 May 26 The purple milk-vetch, a small perennial herb which grows on sandstone sea cliffs in Scotland, has been classified as ‘endangered’. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens i. lxxxii. 122 Of Blattaria, or Mothe Mulleyn... From the middle of those leaues doo spring up two or three stems, bearing fayre yellow floures, (and sometimes also it beareth purple flowers)... It may be called in English Purple, or Mothe Mulleyn. 1799 Lady C. Murray I. 169 V. Phœniceum. Purple Mullein... Flowers from May to July... Native of the South of Europe. 1882 28 Oct. 377/1 The Purple Mullein..is an old garden favourite. 1924 L. H. Bailey 674 V. phœniceum, L. Purple Mullein. To 5ft high..fls. in a simple slender nearly glabrous raceme, purple or red. 2002 (Nexis) 11 Aug. (Style section) 28 The small, lively and wiry purple mullein V. phoeniceum comes in shades of pink and mauve and looks good among Mediterranean sages and rosemary. 1988 28 July 39/3 As the waters receded, they collected annual plants such as chamomile and tubers of purple nut-grass (Cyperus rotundus). 2000 A. M. T. Moore et al. iii. 71 These [swamps] can reasonably be expected to support extensive stands of..the common reed..and, in shallower water and on mud flats, the sea club-rush, and the purple nut-grass, Cyperus rotundus. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > willow and allies > [noun] > other types of willow 1797 J. Abercrombie (ed. 2) at Osier There are different sorts of Osiers, such as the yellow, green, purple, Dutch Osier, wire Osier, &c. 1893 J. Nesbit 327 The purple osier (S. purpurea), so called from the colour of its anthers during the time of flowering, produces very thin but exceedingly tough withes. 2003 (Nexis) 8 Mar. (Weekend section) 58 Willows can shoot up by as much as three metres a year, and include the purple osier..to supply the slender, supple twigs for finer baskets. 1745 P. Miller (ed. 7) 74 Purple-flower'd Ragwort.] 1754 P. Miller (ed. 10) 315 Plants in Flower in the open Air..if the season be mild..the purple Ragwort, Eupatoriums, Clinopodiums, and Helenia's. 1890 at Ragwort Purple Ragwort, the purple jacobæa, Senecio elegans, a handsome garden species from the Cape of Good Hope. 1976 (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 1035/2 Senecio elegans L. (Jacobaea elegans... Purple Ragwort... S.Afr.; escaped in Calif. 1798 W. Curtis II. facing Pl. 83 Saxifraga Oppositifolia. Purple Saxifrage... This species of Saxifrage, the only British one with purple flowers, is found plentifully on the summits of our highest mountains. 1888 F. A. Lees 246 Saxifraga oppositifolia L. Purple Saxifrage... Native; exposed alpine rocks, very rare, locally plentiful. 2000 P. Pullman (2001) iii. 43 And in confirmation, a little Arctic flower, a purple saxifrage, blossomed improbably where the witch had planted it as a signal in a cranny of the rock. 1917 14 Apr. 9/5 The purple-sprouting broccoli would be grown in the ornamental garden did not its utility exceed its beauty. 2003 Sept. 24/1 The Romans also grew purple sprouting broccoli—still loved by many gardeners. 1719 tr. J. Pitton de Tournefort I. 37/2 Purple Sea-Spurge.] ?1785 Earl of Bute II. 418 Purple Spurge. E. peplis. Stem of 4 inches, decumbent, reddish. 1920 J. Vaughan i. 12 When on a visit to the Isle of Wight [J. S.] Mill noticed on the shore of Sandown Bay a single specimen of the purple spurge. 1992 (Nexis) 28 Nov. 3 The saddest entry of all is for the purple spurge, once seen on the beaches of the west and south of England. It has become extinct, and is therefore removed from the protected list. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > hyacinth and allied flowers > grape-hyacinth or tassel-hyacinth 1629 J. Parkinson 118 Called..the purple faire haired Iacinth..and..of diuers Gentlewomen, purple tassels. 1902 T. W. Sanders (ed. 5) 316 Purple-tassels (Muscari comosum)—see Muscari. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > foliage, house, or garden plants > [noun] > amaranth and allied plants 1548 W. Turner sig. A.vijv The other kynde [of Amaranthus] is called here in Englande of some purple veluet floure, of other flouramore. 1658 E. Phillips Floramor, a flower called the flower of love, passevelours, or purple velvet flower. 1719 F. A. de Alvarado 279 Amaránto. The Amaranth, or purple velvet Flower. 1800 T. Arnold 30 Fløjels-Blomst, the Purple-Velvet Flower. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > willow and allies > [noun] > other types of willow 1773 W. Hanbury I. 180/1 The real and distinct species of the Willow are: 1. The White Willow. 2. The Yellow Willow. 3. Purple Willow [etc.]. 1874 H. D. B. Bailey 217 Everything indicated an early spring. The bilberry was in full blossom..and the purple willow was shooting forth its tender branches. 1993 21 Feb. ii. 5/2 Plants that will manage in wet sandy soil include..privet, purple willow, pussy willow, hybrid poplar, [etc.]. 1755 R. Goade 67 Campechianum lignum. Logwood. A purple Wood brought over in Logs... It is the Heart of a large Tree, native of the hotter Parts of America. 1776 W. J. Mickle tr. L. de Camoens x. 477 That mighty realm for purple wood renown'd, Shall stretch the Lusian empire's western bound. 1858 P. L. Simmonds 307/1 Purple-wood, an undefined Brazilian wood, principally used for ramrods, and occasionally for buhl work, marquetry, and turning. 1923 June 292/1 The remaining secrétaire stamped by Riesener..goes further in simplicity of woodwork—panels of thuja, with borders of purple-wood (amaranthe). 1999 141/4 Boxwood stringing, set into the purplewood, enhances the line of the shaped apron and splay feet. 1864 A. H. R. Grisebach 789/1 Wreath, purple: Petrea volubilis. 1964 T. M. Greensill iii. ii. 117 Petrea volubilis (Verbenaceae)—‘Purple Wreath’. A strong, woody perennial twining plant which can grow to 20 feet. 2003 (Nexis) 31 May (News section) 6 Petrea, the purple wreath, is often mistaken for wisteria, the bright blue flowers cover the vine from winter to spring. (c) society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > air as medium for operation of aircraft > [noun] > route through the air > types of 1955 1 Feb. 12/2 Air control experts met at London Airport last night and fixed a 5,000-mile long ‘Purple Airway’ for Princess Margaret's flight to Trinidad today. 1970 1 Aug. 1/7 When the Royal Family fly long distances a special ‘purple airway’ is imposed. 2002 (Nexis) 18 July 9 The Queen has the additional safety of a ‘purple airway’. the world > life > biology > organism > micro-organism > bacterium > [noun] > types of 1897 24 447 He [sc. Engelmann]..shows that the purple bacteria..have photosynthetic powers, although this property is not marked. 1912 W. H. Lang tr. (ed. 4) ii. i. 337 The Purple Bacteria, which develop in water with decomposing organic matter in the absence of oxygen and the presence of light, contain..a green and a red pigment. 1994 14 July 104/1 Scotophobic behaviour is typical of motile purple bacteria, is independent of the direction of illumination, and does not occur if the light intensity is reduced only gradually. 1683 R. Dixon iii. iv. 20 Porphyrogenitus, sweet as Amber. Was begot in the Purple Chamber. 1831 W. Scott Count Robert iii, in 4th Ser. I. 87 An imperial Princess, porphyrogenita, or born in the sacred purple chamber itself. a1874 S. Dobell (1875) ii. 27 These pamper'd ears, born in the purple chamber Of silken state. 2000 169 27 The famous epithet [sc. ‘born in the purple’] derives from the purple chamber in which empresses were delivered of their children from the mid-eighth century onwards. 1644 J. Vicars 200 The Lord Brooke his Purple-coats..did most singular good service all this fight. 1830 (Royal Soc.) 120 402 The relative power of conducting galvanic electricity possessed by many of the metalliferous minerals... Conductors. Copper nickel, Purple Copper, [etc.]. 1864 H. Watts II. 78 Purple copper does not give off sulphur when ignited in a test-tube. 1881 9 122 Copper-ores,..purple copper (variegated or peacock ore, bornite, sulphide of copper and iron). a1728 J. Woodward (1729) 198 A glossy Purple Copper-Ore. Comarten, Devonshire. 1865 27 Mar. 4/5 These [lodes] contain purple copper ore and gray copper ore, both extremely rich in silver. 1910 IX. 757/1 The colour on a freshly fractured surface is bronzy or coppery, but in moist air this rapidly tarnishes with iridescent blue and red colours; hence the names purple copper ore, variegated copper ore.., horse-flesh ore, and erubescite. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > class or grade of wine > [noun] > cheap or inferior wine 1947 D. M. Davin 199 Everyone goes for the purple death. 2006 (Nexis) 18 Feb. 17 The subsequent ashes [were] filtered into a bottle of Purple Death (a dodgy Hawke's Bay red from the early 1980s). 1607 T. Walkington v. f. 33v Murex, the purple fish, who yeldes her purple-dying humor, being but once strucke. 1753 Suppl. at Trumpet-shell The purple-dying liquor of the buccinum. 1858 Feb. 130/1 Long subsequent to the discovery of the art of purple-dying, any person might wear robes of that color. 1877 II. 298/1 Cudbear, a purple dyeing substance prepared from various lichens. 2004 L. J. Hall x. 231 It is possible to trace the gradual restriction of purple dyeing to government-controlled facilities with occasional attempts by the dyers to sell privately. 1696 J. Smith 131 The Purple-fly, with Purple Wool, mixed with light brown Bears-Hair, the Wings of Stares Feather, Dub it with Purple Silk. 1753 Suppl. Mida,..the name of a worm or maggot, of which is produced the purple fly, found on bean-flowers. 1799 tr. (ed. 6) II. x. 311 Purple-fly. Dubbing, of purple wool, and a little bear's hair mixed. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > hallucinogenic drug > LSD 1967 J. Hendrix (sheet music) 2 Purple haze was in my brain, Lately things don't seem the same. 1970 24 Mar. 2/3 The American LSD..has been coming in..under such exotic names as..‘purple haze’, and ‘blue cheer’. 1996 12 Oct. (Jobs & Money section) 6/4 Tripped-out space cadets will fork out in excess of £960 on purple haze. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > purple dye or pigment > [noun] 1785 9 Nov. (advt.) R. Green... Prepares and sells, whole sale and Retail, the following Articles... Fine Prussian Blue, Fine Purple Lake, [etc.]. 1821 Sept. 290/2 The purple-lake-coloured stuffs. 1934 H. Hiler ii. 123 Crimson lake, Purple lake, etc., now usually made from alizarin... Also prepared from cochineal... Should be regarded as obsolete. 1996 41 86/1 During the late nineteenth century cochineal was used in the production of carmine, crimson, and three purple lakes. 1823 9 May 2/5 Witness certainly did not conceive that his oath, as an Orangeman, bound him to conceal any truth from the house. Knows so little of party matter, that he cannot well say whether he is a ‘purple-man’ or not. 1836 13 393 The very names of ‘Orangeman’ and ‘Purpleman’ are beneath the real elevation of their high and noble cause. 1972 T. Gray 215 In Northern Ireland [the Arch Purple] merely represents a transitional stage through which a Purpleman must go before he becomes one of the Black Preceptories. 2002 K. Haddick-Flynn 61 Most Orangemen are ‘Purplemen’ and its degree is regarded as the culmination of the natural progression through the Orange Order. 1906 10 Feb. 8/2 Injuries inflicted on the roadside..after a ‘purple’ meeting in the Bush Side Orange Hall. the world > life > biology > substance > cell > parts of cell > [noun] > wall or membranes 1968 Stoeckenius & Kunau in 38 344/1 The purple band, henceforth called purple membranes, contains considerably less RNA and slightly less lipid than the orange-red fraction. 1997 267 172 The Halobacterium salinarium purple membrane is a two-dimensional crystalline lattice containing bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and lipid. society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [noun] > embellishment > ornate passage 1882 Jan. 211/2 The book is..marked by great reserve and quietness of tone... There is not a ‘purple passage’ in all the two volumes. 1895 E. Gosse in July 451/2 Emphasizing the purpler passages with lifted voice and gesticulating finger. 1937 Oct. 326/2 Mrs. Johnson says little about herself, indulges in no purple passages, and without the conscious effort of the raconteur she manages to introduce many good stories. 2001 S. T. Asma v. 197 One of her purple passages reads: ‘The doctrine of Mr. Darwin is the rational revelation of progress, pitting itself in its logical antagonism with the irrational revelation of the fall’. 1782Purple powder of Cassius [see sense B. 4]. 1823 A. Ure (ed. 2) 492/2 A plate of tin, immersed in a solution of gold, affords a purple powder, called the purple powder of Cassius. 1848 20 May 548/1 The oxide, or rather deutoxide, of gold,—the purple powder of Cassius, is the next form. 1901 27 Feb. It is probably in the wine and egg period that he composes accounts of Nero banquets and other purple prose matter. 1952 N. Straus iv. 77 He sees advertisements describing new houses for sale... Glowing adjectives and purple prose embellish the descriptions. 2004 10 Dec. 29/1 A good editor would have..written rude comments in the margins near the frequent passages of purple prose. 1819 W. T. Brande v. 327 Purple quartz or amethyst is tinged with a little iron and manganese. 1896 Feb. 449 The fluor-spar is locally known as ‘purple quartz’. 1943 11 June 531 Milky quartz, rose quartz and purple quartz (amethyst) are useless [for the manufacture of quartz oscillator plates]. 1994 3 Aug. 14/1 Amethyst—a purple quartz is calming. It also sharpens the concious mind. a1812 R. Willan Classif. Cutaneous Dis. in J. Thomson tr. W. Cullen (1816) App. 143 Purpura; Purple, or Scorbutic Rash. 1601 R. Yarington sig. K2 The blood of Iesus Christ hath power, To make my purple sinne as white as Snowe. 1658 J. Spencer 507 In thy Youth thou art not Cloath but Wooll; so that the deepest Purple sins are those which are died in the Wooll. 1850 R. Bell III. vi. i. 156 Let ruin come, I have plucked out the purple sin, and shown its hollowness to the world. 1905 H. A. Vachell vii. 147 I never said bridge was a purple sin. 1987 A. Powell in (1997) (Nexis) 21 Sept. Striking how much Wilde himself accepted Victorian view of homosexuality as a ‘purple sin’, rather than physiological mutation. society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > air as medium for operation of aircraft > [noun] > route through the air > types of 1970 1 Aug. 1/2 ‘A purple zone’ was not in operation..because the Prince was flying only in the immediate area of Tangmere. 2004 (Nexis) 12 Nov. 4 All royal flights plot an exact route and other aircraft are warned to stay clear of the area, known as a ‘purple zone’. C2. Compounds of the noun. a. (a) Objective. 1738 E. A. Burgis IV. 340 Lydia the purple-dyer. 1848 Sept. 243/2 Laodicea was proud of her inimitable horsemen; Lydia of her purple-dyers. 1904 W. M. Ramsay xxix. 421 The Jews..were organised in trade-guilds, the purple-dyers, the carpet makers, and perhaps others. 2000 119 317 An association of purple dyers is found at Thessalonica. 1898 J. Hastings I. 457 For other purple-producing shellfish see Purple. 1937 H. Pope i. 18 In the purple-producing island of Girba..Libyan was spoken, as Berber indeed is to this day. 2003 (Nexis) 9 Feb. (Sunday Review section) 2 We find ourselves in Lebanon in search of the purple-producing shellfish valued by ancient Phoenician traders. (b) Instrumental. 1639 G. Daniel xxxiii. 45 Heare me, O you purple-Clad Magistrates, You civill Rulers. 1823 M. W. Shelley II. vii. 161 The purple-clad emperors of Constantinople may envy your state and power. 1904 May 612/2 Where Izumo's walls appear purple-clad, the gods assembled in the tenth month of every year. 1999 80 4/1 I raced wide-eyed through my purple-clad hero's latest adventures. 1870 W. Morris 383 The purple-dusted butterfly. 1952 24 Aug. b2/6 The purple dusted fruit carpets the ground. 2004 (Nexis) 19 Dec. (Review) 20 In some she placed succulent plants such as the purple-dusted Echeveria ‘Perle von Nurnberg’. 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch 393 If it be a commendable thing..not to care for purple dyed gownes, nor for houses with plastered walles: it followeth then [etc.]. 1876 D. Rock (new ed.) v. 39 The costly purple-dyed silks called ‘blatta’. 1943 47 266 They are all purple-dyed woollen stuffs, embroidered with wool of various colors. 1993 Aug. 55/2 She spoke about the ancient ‘purple trade’—the trade in expensive purple-dyed fabric. 1702 S. Gilbert (ed. 3) 35 The rest have green thick leaves and broad,..some smooth and plain on the edges, others downy and jagged, or purple edged [1682 purled edges; 1693 purled edged]. 1875 E. Poste tr. Gaius (ed. 2) i. Comm. 90 The purple-edged praetexta was generally laid aside by boys along with the bulla aurea..on the first Liberalia,..after the completion of their fourteenth year. 1914 E. S. Boucher ii. v. 69 Purple-edged tunics of linen were sometimes worn on a campaign by Iberian soldiers. 2006 (Nexis) 14 Apr. f7 They must be stripped of that protective sac..down to the milky white, purple-edged bulb. 1749 11 From the purple-lined Closet, to the Cobler's Bulk,..ye will hear all declare, the most foolish action is the most fashionable. 1820 J. Keats Lamia ii, in 29 The purple-lined palace of sweet sin. 1938 E. Bowen ii. iii. 215 Portia bought a compendium—lightly ruled violet paper, purple lined envelopes. 2003 May 217/3 People wore purple-lined Ozwald Boateng suits. 1597 R. Johnson sig. Iv She will procure to take a strange reuenge vpon his purple-stayned soule. 1820 J. Keats Ode to Nightingale in 108 With..purple-stained mouth. 1969 R. L. S. Bruce-Mitford 3 The third leaf, a purple-stained folio with text written in yellow orpiment (not gold), carried on its recto and verso respectively a prologue and a table of contents. 2006 (Nexis) 24 Mar. a18 Freedom is as much about the culture and customs of a society as it is about the spectacle of heavily guarded elections and purple-stained fingers. 1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer IV. xix. 275 A mantle purple-ting'd [Gk. δίπλακα δῶκα καλὴν πορϕυρέην], and radiant vest. 1824 D. M. Moir 232 These lichen'd stones, all purple-tinged and blue..Untouch'd have lain, and undisturb'd and lone! 1952 A. G. L. Hellyer (ed. 22) 393 P[opulus]..tremula, ‘Aspen’,..with vars. pendula, ‘Weeping Aspen’, and purpurea, purple-tinged foliage. 1996 R. Mabey 293/2 It is a tall and handsome species with purple-tinged, ‘claret-dipped’ flower-heads. b. 1820 J. H. Wiffen 164 I heard all day the shrilling horn proclaim The captive's freedom, and the monarch's shame, And smiled to think, that I..Could with such dread the purple-born assault! 1865 A. Trollope II. xl. 317 Lady Glencora and Alice were sitting up-stairs with the small, purple-born one in their presence. 1952 N. Mitchison ii. i. 60 In the innermost hall was the Purple-born, and on orders of the Purple-born was all done. 1999 N. Garland viii. 142 Psellos here intends us to believe that Basil had Zoe trained for her position as purple-born princess and possible heir of the empire. society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > cardinal > [noun] 1615 R. Brathwait 47 A purple sin..Since purple-fathers oft-times go vnto it. a1711 T. Ken Edmund iv, in (1721) II. 105 Even Purple Fathers of my Favours boast, They who should best know Heav'n, esteem me most. 1928 31 Dec. 13/6 Henry [VIII] added a tennis court to the Palace which the Purple Father [sc. Cardinal Wolsey] had given him. 1883 XVI. 648/2 The presence of glandular plication of the surface of the mantle-flap..and an adrectal gland (purple-gland). 1958 J. E. Morton ii. 47 Indigoid pigments occur as in the purple gland in Muricacea, often too in their egg cases. 2001 50 785/1 Two glands in sea hares produce an external secretion, the opaline gland..and the ink or purple gland. society > trade and finance > trader > traders or dealers in specific articles > [noun] > in textiles, clothing, or yarns 1547 J. Bale f. 44 Lydia by name, a purple seller verye rytche in merchaundyse, receyued Paule, Sylas, and Timothe. 1629 L. Andrewes v. 315 The Purple seller (and if the purple seller, why not the Purple wearer?)..were in earth, Saints (as we reade) and are (we doubt not) in Abraham's bosome. 1702 L. Echard ii. v. 193 To these Paul deliver'd the Word of God, and by the Influence of God's Spirit converted, among others, a certain Woman nam'd Lydia, a Purple Seller. 1859 P. Schaff i. iii. 263 One of these, Lydia, a purple-seller of Thyatīra..was baptized with all her family. 1985 39 194 As to Lydia the purple-seller..M.'s conclusion that she belonged to the ‘Greek-speaking merchants who have settled in Philippi’ and possessed ‘some wealth’ is too optimistic. 1629 L. Andrewes v. 315 The Purple seller (and if the purple seller, why not the Purple wearer?)..were in earth, Saints (as we reade) and are (we doubt not) in Abraham's bosome. 1860 G. W. Thornbury i. v. 97 Aqueducts built by some forgotten purple-wearer. a1906 P. L. Dunbar (1993) 32 Love is the King, the Purple-Wearer. 2002 (Nexis) 29 Sept. (Style section) 9 These days, rather than posh people with an eye for colour, purple-wearers are likely to be gold-digging, money-grabbing, castle-creeping adventurers with raisons way beyond their etre. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). purplev. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: purple adj. Etymology: < purple adj. Compare slightly earlier purpled adj. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > turning purple > make purple [verb (transitive)] the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > making or becoming red > make red [verb (transitive)] > with dye, stain, or pigment ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 41 In so moche that y schalle purpulle [a1387 J. Trevisa translation ‘schal hiȝte’; Latin purpurabo] the mariantes nye the hedes of þe gestes with a dowble ordre of yeres. 1565 T. Drant sig. d iv Alack with bloud of barons bold how purpled was thy soyle. 1592 R. Greene sig. C2v A nose..purpled pretiously with pearle and stone, like a counterseit worke. a1653 Z. Boyd (1855) 138 Blood did purple ov'r the grasse. 1667 J. Milton vii. 30 Yet not alone, while thou Visit'st my slumbers Nightly, or when Morn Purples the East. View more context for this quotation 1725 R. Bradley at Lily The Flowers..are..crooked, purpled, and pink'd with certain red Spots, they smell sweatly and please the Sight. 1783 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal (new ed.) I. 395 Was it then to be reserved for this ignominy, that we purpled the seas with our blood? 1831 J. Wilson vi. 5 The heather bloom..purples..The Moors and Mountains. 1863 S. Baring-Gould 214 A hill purpled with wood cranesbill. 1929 M. Redgrave in 7 June The vegetation became dense and of tropical behaviour, purpling the air with wild fruits and flowers. 1968 11 July a4/2 Since most squires held court solely by ear, the young lawyer purpled up his oratory. 1991 R. S. Jones (1992) i. ix. 84 He could see across the river to the city on the other side: the lit buildings, the neon purpling the horizon above the highway. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > turning purple > become purple [verb (intransitive)] 1608 G. Chapman iii. sig. E3v My spirrit as yet, but stooping to his rest, Shines hotly in him, as the Sunne in clowds, Purpled, and made proud with a peacefull Euen. 1785 T. Dwight x. 240 The vine, glad offspring of the sun, aspires, And smiles, and purples, in th' indulgent fires. 1816 Ld. Byron i. 7 The land-mark to the double tide That purpling rolls on either side. 1893 E. H. Barker 87 It purpled and died away in grayness and mournful shadow. 1946 E. Waugh (1979) 647 Duff swelled, purpled, and recited for twenty minutes Sordello. 1970 V. Canning vi. 100 Fig trees on which the fruits were beginning to purple. 1992 No. 1. 15 Edmund choked on his stew. He clutched his throat and his face purpled. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  adj.n.OE v.?a1475 |
