[pur.ple] adj pur.pler ; pur.plest [ME purpel, alter. of purper, fr. OE purpuran of purple, gen. of purpure purple color, fr. L purpura, fr. Gk porphyra] (bef. 12c) 1: regal, imperial
2: of the color purple 3 a: highly rhetorical: ornate b: marked by profanity
[2]purple n (15c) 1 a (1): cloth dyed purple (2): a garment of such color; esp: a purple robe worn as an emblem of rank or authority b (1): tyrian purple (2): any of various colors that fall about midway between red and blue in hue c (1): a mollusk (as of the genus Purpura) yielding a purple dye and esp. the Tyrian purple of ancient times (2): a pigment or dye that colors purple
2. a: imperial or regal rank or power b: high rank or station [3]purple vb pur.pled ; pur.pling vt (15c): to make purple ~ vi: to become purple