/ ˈpɜːpl; NAmE ˈpɜːrpl/ adjective
1.
having the colour of blue and red mixed together :
a purple flower
His face was purple with rage.
2.
purple prose / passage writing or a piece of writing that is too grand in style
► pur·ple noun [ U , C ]:
She was dressed in purple.
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English (describing the clothing of an emperor), alteration of purpre , from Latin purpura purple, from Greek porphura , denoting molluscs that yielded a crimson dye, also cloth dyed with this.