Puce is a dark red or purple brown color, a brownish purple or a "dark reddish brown."

Etymology

The colour is said to be the color of bloodstains on linen or bedsheets, even after being laundered, from

flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

droppings, or after a flea has been crushed. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' (''OED'') dates the first

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

use of "puce" as a color to 1778. The name comes from the French word ''puce'', or flea, which comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for flea, ''pulex'' (stem ''pulic-''). According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'', the first French use of puce as a color name, meaning ''flea-color'', dates to the 17th century. A different source dates the first French use of ''puce'' as a color name to the 14th century.

History

The color puce became popular in the late 18th century in France. It appeared in clothing at the Court of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, and was said to be a favorite color of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

, though there are no portraits of her wearing it. Puce was also a popular fashion color in 19th-century

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In one of his novels,

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

described a woman "dressed in a gown of a dark color...between puce and the color of goose poop (''caca d'oie'')."

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

wrote in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', " ..Mademoiselle Baptistine gentle, slender, frail, somewhat taller than her brother, dressed in a gown of puce-colored silk, of the fashion of 1806, which she had purchased at that date in Paris, and which had lasted ever since."

Variations of puce

Puce (ISCC-NBS)

The color to the right is the color called puce in the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955). Since this color has a hue code of 353, it is a slightly purplish red.

Puce (Maerz and Paul)

The color box to the right shows the color called ''puce'' in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul, ''A Dictionary of Color''; the color ''puce'' is displayed on page 37, Plate 7, Color Sample H4.

Puce (Pourpre color list)

At right is the color called ''puce'' in the Pourpre.com color list, a color list widely popular in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. This is the original ''puce'', from which all other tones of puce ultimately derive.

Puce (Pantone)

The color at right is called ''puce'' in the

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

color list. The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #19-1518 TPX—Puce.

In popular culture

* In the vintage-bottle-collecting hobby, "puce" is amongst the most desirable colors. * In the

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

Sir Gareth Sir Gareth (; Old French: ''Guerehet'', ''Guerrehet'') is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He is the youngest son of King Lot and Queen Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother ...

fights Sir Perymones, who is called "The Puce Knight".Search result, Puce Knight: * In '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985),

Jeffrey Kramer Jeffrey Kramer (born July 15, 1945) is an American film and television actor and producer. Life and career Kramer was born in New York City and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School with the Class of 1963, before ...

's character, Towser, picks the color puce for the color of Patch the Elf's (

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

) lollipop. He describes the color as "like

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republi ...

, but a shade less

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

and a bit more

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

." He also mentions to his boss, B.Z. (

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

) that if the lollipop is a success, the company can come out with a "Puce Juice".

References

{{Shades of red Shades of pink Shades of red Marie Antoinette History of fashion