adj blood-red; bloody.
2. purple ·noun any shell of the genus purpura.
3. purple ·noun ·see purpura.
4. purple ·noun a cardinalate. ·see cardinal.
5. purple ·noun a disease of wheat. ·same·as earcockle.
6. purple ·vt to make purple; to dye of purple or deep red color; as, hands purpled with blood.
7. purple ·adj imperial; regal;
so called from the color having been an emblem of imperial authority.
8. purple ·noun a color formed by, or resembling that formed by, a combination of the primary colors red and blue.
9. purple ·noun hence: imperial sovereignty; royal rank, dignity, or favor; loosely and colloquially, any exalted station; great wealth.
10. purple ·adj 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.
11. purple ·noun 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.
12. purple ·noun 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.