Main Entry: ¹pur·ple

Pronunciation: \ˈpər-pəl\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): pur·pler \-p(ə-)lər\; pur·plest \-p(ə-)ləst\

Etymology: Middle English purpel, alteration of purper, from Old English purpuran of purple, genitive of purpure purple color, from Latin purpura, from Greek porphyra

Date: before 12th century

1 : regal, imperial
2 : of the color purple
3 a : highly rhetorical : ornate b : marked by profanity