Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Purple \Pur"ple\, n.; pl. {Purples}. [OE. purpre, pourpre, OF.
   purpre, porpre, pourpre, F. pourpre, L. purpura purple fish,
   purple dye, fr. Gr. ? the purple fish, a shell from the
   purple dye was obtained, purple dye; cf. ? dark (said of the
   sea), purple, ? to grow dark (said of the sea), to be
   troubled; perh. akin to L. furere to rage, E. fury: cf. AS.
   purpure. Cf. {Porphyry}, {Purpure}.]
   1. A color formed by, or resembling that formed by, a
      combination of the primary colors red and blue.

            Arraying with reflected purple and gold The clouds
            that on his western throne attend.    -- Milton.

   Note: The ancient words which are translated purple are
         supposed to have been used for the color we call
         crimson. In the gradations of color as defined in art,
         purple is a mixture of red and blue. When red
         predominates it is called violet, and when blue
         predominates, hyacinth.

   2. 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.

            Thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of
            fine twined linen, and purple, and scarlet. --Ex.
                                                  xxvi. 1.

   3. Hence: Imperial sovereignty; royal rank, dignity, or
      favor; loosely and colloquially, any exalted station;
      great wealth. ``He was born in the purple.'' --Gibbon.

   4. A cardinalate. See {Cardinal}.

   5. (Zo["o]l.) 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}.

   6. (Zo["o]l.) Any shell of the genus Purpura.

   7. pl.(Med.) See {Purpura}.

   8. pl. A disease of wheat. Same as {Earcockle}.

   Note: Purple is sometimes used in composition, esp. with
         participles forming words of obvious signification; as,
         purple-colored, purple-hued, purple-stained,
         purple-tinged, purple-tinted, and the like.

   {French purple}. (Chem.) Same as {Cudbear}.

   {Purple of Cassius}. See {Cassius}.

   {Purple of mollusca} (Zo["o]l.), a coloring matter derived
      from certain mollusks, which dyes wool, etc., of a purple
      or crimson color, and is supposed to be the substance of
      the famous Tyrian dye. It is obtained from Ianthina, and
      from several species of Purpura, and Murex.

   {To be born in the purple}, to be of princely birth; to be
      highborn.

French \French\ (fr[e^]nch), a. [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus,
   from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois,
   fran[,c]ois, F. fran[,c]ais. See {Frank}, a., and cf.
   {Frankish}.]
   Of or pertaining to France or its inhabitants.

   {French bean} (Bot.), the common kidney bean ({Phaseolus
      vulgaris}).

   {French berry} (Bot.), the berry of a species of buckthorn
      ({Rhamnus catharticus}), which affords a saffron, green or
      purple pigment.

   {French casement} (Arch.) See {French window}, under
      {Window}.

   {French chalk} (Min.), a variety of granular talc; -- used
      for drawing lines on cloth, etc. See under {Chalk}.

   {French cowslip} (Bot.) The {Primula Auricula}. See
      {Bear's-ear}.

   {French fake} (Naut.), a mode of coiling a rope by running it
      backward and forward in parallel bends, so that it may run
      freely.

   {French honeysuckle} (Bot.) a plant of the genus {Hedysarum}
      ({H. coronarium}); -- called also {garland honeysuckle}.
      

   {French horn}, a metallic wind instrument, consisting of a
      long tube twisted into circular folds and gradually
      expanding from the mouthpiece to the end at which the
      sound issues; -- called in France {cor de chasse}.

   {French leave}, an informal, hasty, or secret departure;
      esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts.

   {French pie} [French (here used in sense of ``foreign'') +
      pie a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)]
      (Zo["o]l.), the European great spotted woodpecker
      ({Dryobstes major}); -- called also {wood pie}.

   {French polish}.
   (a) A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of
       gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or
       shellac with other gums added.
   (b) The glossy surface produced by the application of the
       above.

   {French purple}, a dyestuff obtained from lichens and used
      for coloring woolen and silken fabrics, without the aid of
      mordants. --Ure.

   {French red} rouge.

   {French rice}, amelcorn.

   {French roof} (Arch.), a modified form of mansard roof having
      a nearly flat deck for the upper slope.

   {French tub}, a dyer's mixture of protochloride of tin and
      logwood; -- called also {plum tub}. --Ure.

   {French window}. See under {Window}.