n.
Pronunciation: ' p ə r-p ə l
Function: adjective
Inflected Form: pur · pler \ -p( ə -)l ə r \ ; pur · plest \ -p( ə -)l ə st \
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