1. (

• purple ,
• purpleness

) a purple color or pigment ;

2. (

• purple ,
• the_purple

) (in ancient Rome) position of imperial status; "he was born to the purple" ;

3. (

• purple ,
• the_purple

) (Roman Catholic Church) official dress of a cardinal; so named after the Tyrial purple color of the robes ;

1. (

• purple ,

) become purple ;

2. (

• purple ,
• empurple ,
• purpurate

) color purple ;

1. (

• purple ,
• violet ,
• purplish

) of a color intermediate between red and blue ;

2. (

• empurpled ,
• over-embellished ,
• purple

) excessively elaborate or showily expressed; "a writer of empurpled literature"; "many purple passages"; "an over-embellished story of the fish that got away" ;

3. (

• imperial ,
• majestic ,
• purple ,
• regal ,
• royal ,

) 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" ;