Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Magenta \Ma*gen"ta\, n. (Chem.)
   An aniline dye obtained as an amorphous substance having a
   green bronze surface color, which dissolves to a shade of
   red; also, the color; -- so called from Magenta, in Italy, in
   allusion to the battle fought there about the time the dye
   was discovered. Called also {fuchsine}, {rose["i]ne}, etc.

Source : WordNet®

magenta
     adj : deep purplish red
     n 1: a dark purple-red; the dye was discovered in 1859, the year
          of the battle of Magenta [syn: {fuchsia}]
     2: a battle in 1859 in which the French and Sardinian forces
        under Napoleon III defeated the Austrians under Francis
        Joseph I [syn: {Battle of Magenta}]