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Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the
RGB color model The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...
used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, purples are created with a combination of red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in printing, purples are made by combining magenta pigment with either cyan pigment, black pigment, or both. Purple has long been associated with royalty, originally because Tyrian purple dye, made from the mucus secretion of a species of snail, was extremely expensive in antiquity. Purple was the color worn by Roman magistrates; it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Similarly in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the color is traditionally associated with the emperor and aristocracy. According to contemporary surveys in Europe and the United States, purple is the color most often associated with rarity, royalty, magic, mystery, and
piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...
. When combined with pink, it is associated with eroticism, femininity, and seduction.


Etymology and definitions

The modern English word ''purple'' comes from the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''purpul,'' which derives from Latin ''purpura'', which, in turn, derives from the Greek (''porphura''), the name of the Tyrian purple
dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
manufactured in classical antiquity from a mucus secreted by the spiny dye-murex snail. The first recorded use of the word ''purple'' dates to the late 900s AD.


Relationship to violet

Purple is closely associated with
violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...
. In common usage, both refer to a variety of colors between blue and red in hue. Historically, purple has tended to be used for redder hues and violet for bluer hues. In optics, violet is a
spectral color A spectral color is a color that is evoked by ''monochromatic light'', i.e. either a single wavelength of light in the visible spectrum, or by a relatively narrow band of wavelengths (e.g. lasers). Every wavelength of visible light is percei ...
; it refers to the color of any different single wavelength of light on the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum, between approximately 380 and 450 nanometers, whereas purple is the color of various combinations of red, blue, and violet light, some of which humans perceive as similar to violet.


In art, history, and fashion


In prehistory and the ancient world: Tyrian purple

Purple first appeared in prehistoric art during the Neolithic era. The artists of Pech Merle cave and other Neolithic sites in France used sticks of manganese and
hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
powder to draw and paint animals and the outlines of their own hands on the walls of their caves. These works have been dated to between 16,000 and 25,000 BC. As early as the 15th century BC the citizens of Sidon and Tyre, two cities on the coast of Ancient Phoenicia (present day Lebanon), were producing purple dye from a sea snail called the spiny dye-murex.Ball, Philip, ''Bright Earth; Art and the Invention of Colour''. p. 290 Clothing colored with the Tyrian dye was mentioned in both the '' Iliad'' of Homer and the '' Aeneid'' of Virgil. The deep, rich purple dye made from this snail became known as Tyrian purple. The process of making the dye was long, difficult and expensive. Thousands of the tiny snails had to be found, their shells cracked, the snail removed. Mountains of empty shells have been found at the ancient sites of Sidon and Tyre. The snails were left to soak, then a tiny gland was removed and the juice extracted and put in a basin, which was placed in the sunlight. There, a remarkable transformation took place. In the sunlight the juice turned white, then yellow-green, then green, then violet, then a red which turned darker and darker. The process had to be stopped at exactly the right time to obtain the desired color, which could range from a bright crimson to a dark purple, the color of dried blood. Then either wool, linen or silk would be dyed. The exact hue varied between crimson and violet, but it was always rich, bright and lasting. Tyrian purple became the color of kings, nobles, priests and magistrates all around the Mediterranean. It was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
); in the Book of Exodus, God instructs
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
to have the Israelites bring him an offering including cloth "of blue, and purple, and scarlet," to be used in the curtains of the Tabernacle and the garments of priests. The term used for purple in the 4th-century Latin Vulgate version of the Bible passage is ''purpura'' or Tyrian purple. In the '' Iliad'' of Homer, the belt of Ajax is purple, and the tails of the horses of Trojan warriors are dipped in purple. In the '' Odyssey'', the blankets on the wedding bed of
Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
are purple. In the poems of
Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...
(6th century BC) she celebrates the skill of the dyers of the Greek kingdom of
Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
who made purple footwear, and in the play of Aeschylus (525–456 BC), Queen Clytemnestra welcomes back her husband Agamemnon by decorating the palace with purple carpets. In 950 BC,
King Solomon King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
was reported to have brought artisans from Tyre to provide purple fabrics to decorate the Temple of Jerusalem. Alexander the Great (when giving imperial audiences as the
basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...
of the
Macedonian Empire Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
), the basileus of the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
, and the kings of Ptolemaic Egypt all wore Tyrian purple. The Roman custom of wearing purple togas may have come from the Etruscans; an Etruscan tomb painting from the 4th century BC shows a nobleman wearing a deep purple and embroidered toga. In Ancient Rome, the ''Toga praetexta'' was an ordinary white toga with a broad purple stripe on its border. It was worn by freeborn Roman boys who had not yet come of age, curule magistrates, certain categories of priests, and a few other categories of citizens. The ''Toga picta'' was solid purple, embroidered with gold. During the Roman Republic, it was worn by generals in their
triumphs ''Triumphs'' (Italian language, Italian: ''I Trionfi'') is a 14th-century Italian series of poems, written by Petrarch in the Tuscan language. The poem evokes the Roman triumph, Roman ceremony of triumph, where victorious generals and their armies ...
, and by the
Praetor Urbanus Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
when he rode in the chariot of the gods into the circus at the Ludi Apollinares. During the Empire, the ''toga picta'' was worn by magistrates giving public
gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
ial games, and by the consuls, as well as by the emperor on special occasions. During the Roman Republic, when a triumph was held, the general being honored wore an entirely purple toga bordered in gold, and Roman Senators wore a toga with a purple stripe. However, during the Roman Empire, purple was more and more associated exclusively with the emperors and their officers. Suetonius claims that the early emperor
Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
had the King of Mauretania murdered for the splendour of his purple cloak, and that Nero forbade the use of certain purple dyes. In the late empire the sale of purple cloth became a state monopoly protected by the death penalty. According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ, in the hours leading up to his crucifixion, was dressed in purple (πορφύρα: ''porphura'') by the Roman garrison to mock his claim to be ' King of the Jews'. The actual color of Tyrian purple seems to have varied from a reddish to a bluish purple. According to the Roman writer Vitruvius, (1st century BC), the murex shells coming from northern waters, probably ''
Bolinus brandaris ''Bolinus brandaris'' (originally called ''Murex brandaris'' by Linnaeus and also Haustellum brandaris), and commonly known as the purple dye murex or the spiny dye-murex, is a species of medium-sized predatory sea snail, an edible marine gastr ...
'', produced a more bluish color than those of the south, probably '' Hexaplex trunculus''. The most valued shades were said to be those closer to the color of dried blood, as seen in the mosaics of the robes of the Emperor Justinian in Ravenna. The chemical composition of the dye from the murex is close to that of the dye from indigo, and indigo was sometimes used to make a counterfeit Tyrian purple, a crime which was severely punished. What seems to have mattered about Tyrian purple was not its color, but its luster, richness, its resistance to weather and light, and its high price. In modern times, Tyrian purple has been recreated, at great expense. When the German chemist Paul Friedander tried to recreate Tyrian purple in 2008, he needed twelve thousand mollusks to create 1.4 ounces of dye, enough to color a handkerchief. In the year 2000, a gram of Tyrian purple made from ten thousand mollusks according to the original formula cost two thousand euros.


China

In ancient China, purple was obtained not through the Mediterranean mollusc, but purple gromwell. The dye obtained did not easily adhere to fabrics, making purple fabrics expensive. Purple became a fashionable color in the state of Qi (齊, 1046 BC–221 BC) because its ruler, Qin Shi Huang, developed a preference for it. As a result, the price of purple fabric was over five times that of plain fabric. His minister, Guan Zhong (管仲), eventually convinced him to relinquish this preference. China was the first culture to develop a synthetic purple color.Thieme, C. 2001. (translated by M. Will) Paint Layers and Pigments on the Terracotta Army: A Comparison with Other Cultures of Antiquity. In: W. Yongqi, Z. Tinghao, M. Petzet, E. Emmerling and C. Blänsdorf (eds.) ''The Polychromy of Antique Sculptures and the Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor: Studies on Materials, Painting Techniques and Conservation.'' Monuments and Sites III. Paris: ICOMOS, 52–57. An old hypothesis suggested links between the Chinese purple and blue and Egyptian blue, however, molecular structure analysis and evidence such as the absence of lead in Egyptian blue and the lack of examples of Egyptian blue in China, argued against the hypothesis. The use of quartz, barium, and lead components in
ancient Chinese glass Ancient Chinese glass refers to all types of glass manufactured in China prior to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). In Chinese history, glass played a peripheral role in the arts and crafts, when compared to ceramics and metal work. The limited archa ...
and Han purple and Han blue has been used to suggest a connection between glassmaking and the manufacture of pigments,FitzHugh, E. W. and Zycherman, L. A. 1983. An Early Man-Made Blue Pigment from China: Barium Copper Silicate. ''Studies in Conservation'' 28/1, 15–23. and to prove the independence of the Chinese invention. Taoist alchemists may have developed Han purple from their knowledge of glassmaking. Lead is used by the pigment maker to lower the melting point of the barium in Han Purple. Purple was regarded as a secondary color in ancient China. In classical times, secondary colors were not as highly prized as the five primary colors of the Chinese spectrum, and purple was used to allude to impropriety, in contrast to crimson, which was deemed a primary color and symbolized legitimacy. Nevertheless, by the 6th century CE, purple was ranked above crimson. Several changes to the ranks of colors occurred after that time. File:Egyptian - Faience Bowl - Walters 48451 - Interior.jpg, An Egyptian bowl colored with Egyptian blue, with motifs painted in dark manganese purple. (between 1550 and 1450 BC) File:Contemporary portrayal of a toga picta.jpg, Painting of a man wearing an all-purple ''toga picta'', from an
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...
tomb (about 350 BC). File:Compitalia fresco.jpg, Roman men wearing ''togae praetextae'' with reddish-purple stripes during a religious procession (1st century BC). File:Purple_Purpur_(retouched).jpg, Different purple hues obtained from three types of sea snails File:Purpurküpe.jpg, Dye bath of Tyrian purple File:Purpur-mit-Ausfaerbung.png, Cloth dyed with Tyrian purple. The color could vary from crimson to deep purple, depending upon the type of murex sea-snail and how it was made.


Purple in the Byzantine Empire and Carolingian Europe

Through the early Christian era, the rulers of the Byzantine Empire continued the use of purple as the imperial color, for diplomatic gifts, and even for imperial documents and the pages of the Bible. Gospel manuscripts were written in gold lettering on parchment that was colored Tyrian purple. Empresses gave birth in the Purple Chamber, and the emperors born there were known as "born to the purple," to separate them from emperors who won or seized the title through political intrigue or military force. Bishops of the Byzantine church wore white robes with stripes of purple, while government officials wore squares of purple fabric to show their rank. In western Europe, the Emperor Charlemagne was crowned in 800 wearing a mantle of Tyrian purple, and was buried in 814 in a shroud of the same color, which still exists (see below). However, after the fall of Constantinople to the
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
in 1453, the color lost its imperial status. The great dye works of Constantinople were destroyed, and gradually
scarlet Scarlet may refer to: * Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England * Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth * Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color * ...
, made with dye from the cochineal insect, became the royal color in Europe. File:Theodora mosaic - Basilica San Vitale (Ravenna) v2.jpg, The Empress Theodora, the wife of the Emperor Justinian I, dressed in Tyrian purple. (6th century). File:11th century Byzantine griffins.gif, 11th-century Byzantine robe, dyed Tyrian purple with murex dye. Creatures are
griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
s File:Karl den store krons av leo III.jpg, A medieval depiction of the coronation of the Emperor Charlemagne in 800. The bishops and cardinals wear purple, and the Pope wears white. File:Shroud of Charlemagne manufactured in Constantinople 814.jpg, A fragment of the shroud in which the Emperor Charlemagne was buried in 814. It was made of gold and Tyrian purple from Constantinople.


The Middle Ages and Renaissance

In 1464,
Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...
decreed that cardinals should no longer wear Tyrian purple, and instead wear scarlet, from kermes and alum, since the dye from Byzantium was no longer available. Bishops and archbishops, of a lower status than cardinals, were assigned the color purple, but not the rich Tyrian purple. They wore cloth dyed first with the less expensive indigo blue, then overlaid with red made from kermes dye. While purple was worn less frequently by Medieval and Renaissance kings and princes, it was worn by the professors of many of Europe's new universities. Their robes were modeled after those of the clergy, and they often wore square/violet or purple/violet caps and robes, or black robes with purple/violet trim. Purple/violet robes were particularly worn by students of divinity. Purple and/or violet also played an important part in the religious paintings of the Renaissance. Angels and the Virgin Mary were often portrayed wearing purple or violet robes. File:Aquileia Basilica - Krypta Fresco Bischofsweihe Hermagoras.jpg, A 12th-century painting of Saint Peter consecrating Hermagoras, wearing purple, as a bishop. File:Ghent Altarpiece D - Popes - Bishops.jpg, In the '' Ghent Altarpiece'' (1422) by
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
, the popes and bishops are wearing purple robes. File:Rafael - Ressurreição de Cristo (detalhe - anjo).jpg, A purple-clad angel from the ''Resurrection of Christ'' by Raphael (1483–1520)


18th and 19th centuries

In the 18th century, purple was still worn on occasion by
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
and other rulers, by bishops and, in lighter shades, by members of the aristocracy, but rarely by ordinary people, because of its high cost. But in the 19th century, that changed. In 1856, an eighteen-year-old British chemistry student named William Henry Perkin was trying to make a synthetic quinine. His experiments produced instead the first synthetic aniline dye, a purple shade called
mauveine Mauveine, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was one of the first synthetic dyes. It was discovered serendipitously by William Henry Perkin in 1856 while he was attempting to synthesise the phytochemical quinine for the treatment of m ...
, shortened simply to mauve. It took its name from the mallow flower, which is the same color. The new color quickly became fashionable, particularly after Queen Victoria wore a silk gown dyed with mauveine to the Royal Exhibition of 1862. Prior to Perkin's discovery, mauve was a color which only the aristocracy and rich could afford to wear. Perkin developed an industrial process, built a factory, and produced the dye by the ton, so almost anyone could wear mauve. It was the first of a series of modern industrial dyes which completely transformed both the chemical industry and fashion. Purple was popular with the
pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
painters in Britain, including Arthur Hughes, who loved bright colors and romantic scenes. File:Rokotov ekaterina.jpg, Portrait of Empress
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
of Russia, by Fyodor Rokotov. (State Hermitage Museum). File:Arthur Hughes - April Love - Google Art Project.jpg, In England,
pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
painters like Arthur Hughes were particularly enchanted by purple and/or violet. This is '' April Love'' (1856). File:Gaston d’Orléans, comte d’Eu01.jpg, Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (in dark purple dress) with her husband Prince Gaston and their son, the Prince of Grão-Pará at purple dusk (1877) File:Uniform Albert I, Koning der Belgen.JPG,
Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...
founded in 1830.


20th and 21st centuries

At the turn of the century, purple was a favorite color of the Austrian painter
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...
, who flooded his pictures with sensual purples and violets. In the 20th century, purple retained its historic connection with royalty; George VI (1896–1952), wore purple in his official portrait, and it was prominent in every feature of the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, from the invitations to the stage design inside Westminster Abbey. But at the same time, it was becoming associated with social change; with the Women's Suffrage movement for the right to vote for women in the early decades of the century, with Feminism in the 1970s, and with the
psychedelic drug culture Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
of the 1960s. In the early 20th century, purple, green, and white were the colors of the Women's Suffrage movement, which fought to win the right to vote for women, finally succeeding with the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Later, in the 1970s, in a tribute to the Suffragettes, it became the color of the women's liberation movement. In the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, prisoners who were members of non-conformist religious groups, such as the
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
, were required to wear a purple triangle. During the 1960s and early 1970s, it was also associated with counterculture, psychedelics, and musicians like
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
with his 1967 song "
Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...
", or the English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band of
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
which formed in 1968. Later, in the 1980s, it was featured in the song and album '' Purple Rain'' (1984) by the American musician Prince. The Purple Rain Protest was a protest against apartheid that took place in Cape Town, South Africa on 2 September 1989, in which a police water cannon with purple dye sprayed thousands of demonstrators. This led to the slogan ''The Purple Shall Govern''. The violet or purple necktie became very popular at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, particularly among political and business leaders. It combined the assertiveness and confidence of a red necktie with the sense of peace and cooperation of a blue necktie, and it went well with the blue business suit worn by most national and corporate leaders.Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques. File:Gustav Klimt 009.jpg,
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...
portrait of woman with a purple hat (1912). File:George VI.jpg, George VI (1895–1952) wore purple in his official portrait. File:Elizabeth and Philip 1953.jpg, The coronation portrait of Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1953) has three different shades of purple in the train, curtains and crown. File:Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession - March 3, 1913.jpg, Program from the
Woman Suffrage Procession The Woman Suffrage Procession on 3 March 1913 was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. It was also the first large, organized march on Washington for political purposes. The procession was organized by the suffragists Alice Paul and L ...
, a 1913 Women's Suffrage march. File:The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Votes for women pennant.jpg, A pennant from the Women's Suffrage movement in the state of Indiana. File:Feminism symbol.svg, Symbol of the
Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
movement in the United States (1970s). The purple color was chosen as a tribute to the Suffragette movement a half-century earlier.


In science and nature


Optics

The meanings of the color terms violet and purple varies even among native speakers of English, for example between United Kingdom and United States Since this Wikipedia page contains contributions from authors from different countries and different native languages, it is likely to be not consistent in the use of the color terms violet and purple. According to some speakers/authors of English, purple, unlike violet, is not one of the colors of the visible spectrum. It was not one of the colors of the rainbow identified by Isaac Newton, although in earlier versions of Newton's work the word purple was used where violet was used in the final version. According to some authors, purple does not have its own wavelength of light. For this reason, it is sometimes called a ''non-spectral color''. It exists in culture and art, but not, in the same way that violet does, in optics. According to some speakers of English, purple is simply a combination, in various proportions, of two primary colors, red and blue. According to other speakers of English, the same range of colors is called violet. In some textbooks of
color theory In the visual arts, color theory is the body of practical guidance for color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. Color terminology based on the color wheel and its geometry separates colors into primary color, seconda ...
, and depending on the geographical-cultural origin of the author, a "purple" is defined as any non-spectral color between
violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...
and red (excluding violet and red themselves). The
spectral color A spectral color is a color that is evoked by ''monochromatic light'', i.e. either a single wavelength of light in the visible spectrum, or by a relatively narrow band of wavelengths (e.g. lasers). Every wavelength of visible light is percei ...
s violet and indigo would in that case not be purples. For other speakers of English, these colors are purples. In the traditional color wheel long used by painters, purple is placed between crimson and violet. However, also here there is much variation in color terminology depending on cultural background of the painters and authors, and sometimes the term violet is used and placed in between red and blue on the traditional color wheel. In a slightly different variation, on the color wheel, purple is placed between magenta and violet. This shade is sometimes called electric purple (See shades of purple). In the
RGB color model The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...
, named for the colors red, green, and blue, used to create all the colors on a computer screen or television, the range of purples is created by mixing red and blue light of different intensities on a black screen. The standard HTML color purple is created by red and blue light of equal intensity, at a brightness that is halfway between full power and darkness. In color printing, purple is sometimes represented by the color magenta, or sometimes by mixing magenta with red or blue. It can also be created by mixing just red and blue alone, but in that case the purple is less bright, with lower saturation or intensity. A less bright purple can also be created with light or paint by adding a certain quantity of the third primary color (green for light or yellow for pigment). On a chromaticity diagram, the straight line connecting the extreme spectral colors (red and violet) is known as the
line of purples In color theory, the line of purples or purple boundary is the locus on the edge of the chromaticity diagram formed between extreme spectral red and violet. Except for these endpoints of the line, colors on the line are non-spectral (no monochr ...
(or 'purple boundary'); it represents one limit of human
color perception Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different wavelengths (i.e., different spectral power distributions) independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of ...
. The color magenta used in the CMYK printing process is near the center of the line of purples, but most people associate the term "purple" with a somewhat bluer tone, such as is displayed by the color "electric purple" (a color also directly on the line of purples), shown below. On the CIE xy chromaticity diagram, violet is on the curved edge in the lower left, while purples are on the straight line connecting the extreme colors red and violet; this line is known as the
line of purples In color theory, the line of purples or purple boundary is the locus on the edge of the chromaticity diagram formed between extreme spectral red and violet. Except for these endpoints of the line, colors on the line are non-spectral (no monochr ...
, or the purple line. File:RGB illumination.jpg, On a computer or television screen, purple colors are created by mixing red and blue light. This is called the
RGB color model The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...
. File:CIExy1931.png, The CIE xy chromaticity diagram


Pigments

*
Hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
and manganese are the oldest pigments used for the color purple. They were used by Neolithic artists in the form of sticks, like charcoal, or ground and powdered and mixed with fat, and used as a paint. Hematite is a reddish
iron oxide Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of whic ...
which, when ground coarsely, makes a purple pigment. One such pigment is caput mortuum, whose name is also used in reference to
mummy brown Mummy brown, also called Egyptian brown, is a rich brown bituminous pigment, intermediate in tint between burnt umber and raw umber, and was one of the favourite colours of the Pre-Raphaelites. History Mummy brown was originally made in the 16 ...
. The latter is another pigment containing hematite and historically produced with the use of mummified corpses. Some of its compositions produce a purple color and may be called "mummy violet". Manganese was also used in Roman times to color glass purple. *
Han purple Han purple and Han blue (also called Chinese purple and Chinese blue) are synthetic barium copper silicate pigments developed in China and used in ancient and imperial China from the Western Zhou period (1045–771 BC) until the end of the Han dy ...
was the first synthetic purple pigment, invented in China in about 700 BC. It was used in wall paintings and pottery and other applications. In color, it was very close to indigo, which had a similar chemical structure. Han purple was very unstable, and sometimes was the result of the chemical breakdown of Han blue. During the Middle Ages, artists usually made purple by combining red and blue pigments; most often blue azurite or lapis-lazuli with red ochre, cinnabar, or
minium ''Minium'' is a genus of thalloid alga Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. I ...
. They also combined lake colors made by mixing dye with powder; using woad or indigo dye for the blue, and dye made from cochineal for the red. *
Cobalt violet Cobalt phosphate is the inorganic compound with the formula Co3(PO4)2. It is a commercial inorganic pigment known as cobalt violet.Hugo Müller, Wolfgang Müller, Manfred Wehner, Heike Liewald "Artists' Colors" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Indust ...
was the first modern synthetic color in the purple family, manufactured in 1859. It was found, along with
cobalt blue Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminum(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighter ...
, in the palette of Claude Monet, Paul Signac, and Georges Seurat. It was stable, but had low tinting power and was expensive, so quickly went out of use. *
Manganese violet Manganese violet is the common name for ammonium manganese(III) pyrophosphate, an inorganic compound composed of ammonium (), manganese in the +3 oxidation state, and the pyrophosphate anion (). It is prepared by heating a mixture of manganese(I ...
was a stronger color than cobalt violet, and replaced it on the market. *
Quinacridone Quinacridone is an organic compound used as a pigment. Numerous derivatives constitute the quinacridone pigment family, which finds extensive use in industrial colorant applications such as robust outdoor paints, inkjet printer ink, tattoo inks, ...
violet, one of a modern synthetic organic family of colors, was discovered in 1896 but not marketed until 1955. It is sold today under a number of brand names. File:Lascaux painting.jpg, Manganese pigments were used in the neolithic paintings in the Lascaux cave, France. File:Hematite.jpg,
Hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
was often used as the red-purple color in the cave paintings of Neolithic artists. File:Purpurite-120161.jpg, A sample of purpurite, or manganese phosphate, from the Packrat Mine in Southern California. File:Cobaltviolet.jpg, A swatch of cobalt violet, popular among the French impressionists. File:Manganese violet.jpg,
Manganese violet Manganese violet is the common name for ammonium manganese(III) pyrophosphate, an inorganic compound composed of ammonium (), manganese in the +3 oxidation state, and the pyrophosphate anion (). It is prepared by heating a mixture of manganese(I ...
is a synthetic pigment invented in the mid-19th century. File:CI Pigment Violet 19 Beta.JPG,
Quinacridone Quinacridone is an organic compound used as a pigment. Numerous derivatives constitute the quinacridone pigment family, which finds extensive use in industrial colorant applications such as robust outdoor paints, inkjet printer ink, tattoo inks, ...
violet, a synthetic organic pigment sold under many different names.


Dyes

The most famous purple dye in the ancient world was Tyrian purple, made from a type of sea snail called the murex, found around the Mediterranean. (See history section above). In western Polynesia, residents of the islands made a purple dye similar to Tyrian purple from the
sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
. In Central America, the inhabitants made a dye from a different sea snail, the purpura, found on the coasts of
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
and Nicaragua. The Mayans used this color to dye fabric for religious ceremonies, while the
Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
used it for paintings of ideograms, where it symbolized royalty.Anne Carichon (2000), ''Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples''. p. 133. In the Middle Ages, those who worked with blue and black dyes belonged to separate guilds from those who worked with red and yellow dyes, and were often forbidden to dye any other colors than those of their own guild. Most purple fabric was made by the dyers who worked with red, and who used dye from
madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains coffee. It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and its best-known spe ...
or cochineal, so Medieval violet colors were inclined toward red. Orcein, or ''purple moss'', was another common purple dye. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Hebrews, and was made from a Mediterranean
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Roccella tinctoria), combined with an
ammoniac Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wast ...
, usually urine. Orcein began to achieve popularity again in the 19th century, when violet and purple became the color of demi-mourning, worn after a widow or widower had worn black for a certain time, before he or she returned to wearing ordinary colors. From the Middle Ages onward, purple dyes for the clothing of common people were often made from the blackberry or other red fruit of the genus rubus, or from the
mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
. All of these dyes were more reddish than bluish, and faded easily with washing and exposure to sunlight. A popular new dye which arrived in Europe from the New World during the Renaissance was made from the wood of the
logwood ''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is na ...
tree (H''aematoxylum campechianum''), which grew in Spanish Mexico. Depending on the different minerals added to the dye, it produced a blue, red, black or, with the addition of
alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...
, a purple color, It made a good color, but, like earlier dyes, it did not resist sunlight or washing. In the 18th century, chemists in England, France and Germany began to create the first synthetic dyes. Two synthetic purple dyes were invented at about the same time. Cudbear is a
dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
extracted from orchil
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.wool and silk, without the use of mordant. Cudbear was developed by Dr Cuthbert Gordon of Scotland: production began in 1758, The lichen is first boiled in a solution of ammonium carbonate. The mixture is then cooled and ammonia is added and the mixture is kept damp for 3–4 weeks. Then the lichen is dried and ground to powder. The manufacture details were carefully protected, with a ten-feet high wall being built around the manufacturing facility, and staff consisting of Highlanders sworn to secrecy. French purple was developed in France at about the same time. The lichen is extracted by urine or ammonia. Then the extract is acidified, the dissolved dye precipitates and is washed. Then it is dissolved in ammonia again, the solution is heated in air until it becomes purple, then it is precipitated with calcium chloride; the resulting dye was more solid and stable than other purples. Cobalt violet is a synthetic pigment that was invented in the second half of the 19th century, and is made by a similar process as
cobalt blue Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminum(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighter ...
,
cerulean blue Cerulean (), also spelled caerulean, is a shade of blue ranging between azure and a darker sky blue. The first recorded use of ''cerulean'' as a colour name in English was in 1590. The word is derived from the Latin word '' caeruleus'', "da ...
and
cobalt green Cobalt green is an ambiguous term for either of two families of green inorganic pigments. Both are obtained by doping cobalt(II) oxide into colorless host oxides. Spinel-based cobalt green Doping Co(II) into Mg(II) and Zn(II) sites of Mg2TiO4 and ...
. It is the violet pigment most commonly used today by artists. In spite of its name, this pigment produces a purple rather than violet color
Mauveine Mauveine, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was one of the first synthetic dyes. It was discovered serendipitously by William Henry Perkin in 1856 while he was attempting to synthesise the phytochemical quinine for the treatment of m ...
, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was the first synthetic organic chemical
dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
, discovered serendipitously in 1856. Its chemical name is 3-amino-2,±9-dimethyl-5-phenyl-7-(p-tolylamino)phenazinium acetate.
Fuchsine Fuchsine (sometimes spelled fuchsin) or rosaniline hydrochloride is a magenta dye with chemical formula C20H19N3·HCl.
was another synthetic dye made shortly after mauveine. It produced a brilliant fuchsia color. In the 1950s, a new family of purple and violet synthetic organic pigments called
quinacridone Quinacridone is an organic compound used as a pigment. Numerous derivatives constitute the quinacridone pigment family, which finds extensive use in industrial colorant applications such as robust outdoor paints, inkjet printer ink, tattoo inks, ...
came onto the market. It had originally been discovered in 1896, but were not synthetized until 1936, and not manufactured until the 1950s. The colors in the group range from deep red to bluish purple in color, and have the molecular formula C20H12N2O2. They have strong resistance to sunlight and washing, and are widely used today in oil paints, water colors, and acrylics, as well as in automobile coatings and other industrial coatings. File:Black Butte blackberry.jpg, Blackberries were sometimes used to make purple dye in the Middle Ages. File:A lichen - Ochrolechia tartarea - geograph.org.uk - 995354.jpg, This lichen, growing on a tree in Scotland, was used in the 18th century to make a common purple dye called Cudbear. File:Mauv2.jpg, A sample of silk dyed with the original mauveine dye. File:Basic Fuchsine in aqueous solution.jpg, A sample of
fuchsine Fuchsine (sometimes spelled fuchsin) or rosaniline hydrochloride is a magenta dye with chemical formula C20H19N3·HCl.
dye


Animals

File:Cinnyricinclus_leucogaster_-_20080321.jpg, The male
violet-backed starling The violet-backed starling (''Cinnyricinclus leucogaster''), also known as the plum-coloured starling or amethyst starling, is a relatively small species (17 cm) of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Cinn ...
sports a very bright, iridescent purple plumage. File:Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis.jpg, The
purple frog The purple frog (''Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis''), Indian purple frog, or pignose frog is a frog species of the genus '' Nasikabatrachus''. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in India. Although the adult frog was formally described in Octobe ...
is a species of
amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
found in India. File:Pseudanthias pascalus.jpg, ''Pseudanthias pascalus'' or purple queenfish. File:PurpleUrchinPuertoVG.JPG, The
purple sea urchin ''Strongylocentrotus purpuratus'', the purple sea urchin, lives along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean extending from Ensenada, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada. This sea urchin species is deep purple in color, and lives in lower int ...
from Mexico. File:Purple Heron in flight.jpg, A purple heron in flight (South Africa). File:Carpodacus purpureus CT3.jpg, A
purple finch The purple finch (''Haemorhous purpureus'') is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. Taxonomy This species and the other "American rosefinches" were formerly included with the rosefinches of Eurasia in the genus ''Carpodacus''; however, the ...
(North America). File:Lorius domicella -Jurong Bird Park -upper body-8a.jpg, The ''
Lorius domicella The purple-naped lory (''Lorius domicella'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is forest-dwelling endemic to the islands of Seram, Ambon, and perhaps also Haruku and Saparua, South Maluku, Indonesia. It is considered endan ...
'', or purple-naped lory, from Indonesia.


Anthocyanins

Certain grapes, eggplants, pansies and other fruits, vegetables and flowers may appear purple due to the presence of natural pigments called anthocyanins. These pigments are found in the leaves, roots, stems, vegetables, fruits and flowers of all plants. They aid photosynthesis by blocking harmful wavelengths of light that would damage the leaves. In flowers, the purple anthocyanins help attract insects who pollinate the flowers. Not all anthocyanins are purple; they vary in color from red to purple to blue, green, or yellow, depending upon the level of their pH. File:Purplec.png, The purple colors of this
cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – the ...
, grapes, fruits, vegetables and flowers comes from natural pigments called anthocyanins. File:Indicateur chou rouge.jpg, Anthocyanins range in color from red to purple to green, blue and yellow, depending upon the level of their pH. File:Img fagus sylvatica atropurpurea 1890.jpg, Anthocyanins also account for the purple color in these copper beech trees, and in purple autumn leaves. File:Blood orange sliced.jpg, Anthocyanins produce the purple color in blood oranges. File:Purple pansy flower.jpg, alt=Purple pansy, A purple pansy. File:Blue Hydrangea (common names hydrangea or hortensia).jpg, alt="Blue" hydrangea is often actually purple., "Blue" hydrangea is often actually purple.


Plants and flowers

* Purple needlegrass is the state grass of California. File:Artichoke in Dalat, Vietnam.jpg, An artichoke flower in blossom in Dalat, Vietnam File:Iris germanica10.jpg, '' Iris germanica'' flowers File:Lilac blossom Fliederblüte Syringa vulgaris 05.jpg, '' Syringa vulgaris'', or
lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
blossoms File:MEDICAGO SATIVA - APIS - IB-125.JPG, '' Medicago sativa'', known as
alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...
in the U.S. and lucerne in the U.K. File:Aster alpinus 002.JPG, The ''
Aster alpinus ''Aster alpinus'', the alpine aster or blue alpine daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the mountains of Europe (including the Alps), with a subspecies native to Canada and the United States. This herbaceous ...
'', or alpine aster, is native to the European mountains, including the Alps, while a subspecies is found in Canada and the United States. File:Single lavender flower02.jpg, Lavender flowers. File:Purple Rose1.jpg, A purple rose. File:Wisteria floribunda5.jpg, alt=Wisteria is a pale purple color., Wisteria is a pale purple color. File:Purple_salsify_(7356683346).jpg, salsify


Microbiology

*
Purple bacteria Purple bacteria or purple photosynthetic bacteria are Gram-negative proteobacteria that are phototrophic, capable of producing their own food via photosynthesis. They are pigmented with bacteriochlorophyll ''a'' or ''b'', together with various ...
are bacteria that are phototrophic, that is, capable of producing energy through photosynthesis. *In April 2007 it was suggested that early
archaea Archaea ( ; singular archaeon ) is a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria (in the Archaebac ...
may have used retinal, a purple pigment, instead of
chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...
, to extract energy from the sun. If so, large areas of the ocean and shoreline would have been colored purple; this is called the
Purple Earth hypothesis The Purple Earth hypothesis is an astrobiological hypothesis that photosynthetic life forms of early Earth were based on the simpler molecule retinal rather than the more complex chlorophyll, making Earth appear purple rather than green. An exampl ...
.


Astronomy

* One of the
star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
s in the Pleiades, called Pleione, is sometimes called ''Purple Pleione'' because, being a fast spinning star, it has a purple hue caused by its blue-white color being obscured by a spinning ring of electrically excited red hydrogen gas. *The Purple Forbidden enclosure is a name used in traditional Chinese astronomy for those
Chinese constellations Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" (Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenistic t ...
that surround the north celestial pole.


Geography

*
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to: China * Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu Ireland * Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry United States * Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska * Purple Peak (Col ...
is located on the eastern side of Nanjing. Its peaks are often found enveloped in purple clouds at dawn and dusk, hence comes its name "Purple Mountain". The
Purple Mountain Observatory The Purple Mountain Observatory (), also known as Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the Purple Mountain in the east of Nanjing. Description The Purple Mountain Observatory was established in 1934 fun ...
is located there. *
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to: China * Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu Ireland * Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry United States * Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska * Purple Peak (Col ...
in County Kerry, Ireland, takes its name from the color of the shivered slate on its summit. *
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to: China * Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu Ireland * Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry United States * Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska * Purple Peak (Col ...
in Wyoming (el. ) is a mountain peak in the southern section of the Gallatin Range in Yellowstone National Park. *Purple Mountain, Alaska *Purple Mountain, Oregon *Purple Mountain, Washington *Purple Peak, Colorado File:Purple Mountain View, Killarney.jpg,
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to: China * Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu Ireland * Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry United States * Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska * Purple Peak (Col ...
near Killarney, Ireland. File:PurpleMountainYNP2010.jpg,
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to: China * Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu Ireland * Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry United States * Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska * Purple Peak (Col ...
in Yellowstone National Park. File:PurpleMountain01.JPG,
Purple Mountain Purple Mountain may refer to: China * Purple Mountain (Nanjing), a mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu Ireland * Purple Mountain (Kerry), a mountain in County Kerry United States * Purple Mountain (Alaska), a mountain in Alaska * Purple Peak (Col ...
, Nanjing.


Purple mountains phenomenon

It has been observed that the greater the distance between a viewers eyes and mountains, the lighter and more blue or purple they will appear. This phenomenon, long recognized by Leonardo da Vinci and other painters, is called
aerial perspective Aerial perspective, or atmospheric perspective, refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as viewed from a distance. As the distance between an object and a viewer increases, the contrast between the object and its b ...
or atmospheric perspective. The more distant the mountains are, the less contrast the eye sees between the mountains and the sky. The bluish color is caused by an optical effect called Rayleigh scattering. The sunlit sky is blue because air scatters short- wavelength light more than longer wavelengths. Since blue light is at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum, it is more strongly scattered in the atmosphere than long wavelength red light. The result is that the human eye perceives blue when looking toward parts of the sky other than the sun. At sunrise and sunset, the light is passing through the atmosphere at a lower angle, and traveling a greater distance through a larger volume of air. Much of the green and blue is scattered away, and more red light comes to the eye, creating the colors of the sunrise and sunset and making the mountains look purple. The phenomenon is referenced in the song " America the Beautiful", where the lyrics refer to "purple mountains' majesty" among other features of the United States landscape. A Crayola crayon called Purple Mountain Majesty in reference to the lyric was first formulated in 1993. File:Aerial perspective 1.JPG, The more distant mountains are, the lighter and more blue they are. This is called atmospheric perspective or
aerial perspective Aerial perspective, or atmospheric perspective, refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as viewed from a distance. As the distance between an object and a viewer increases, the contrast between the object and its b ...
. File:Auke Bay Alaska 2.jpg, Sunset at Auke Bay, Alaska. Thanks to Rayleigh scattering, the mountains appear purple.


Mythology

Julius Pollux, a Greek grammarian who lived in the second century AD, attributed the discovery of purple to the Phoenician god and guardian of the city of Tyre, Heracles. According to his account, while walking along the shore with the nymph Tyrus, the god's dog bit into a murex shell, causing his mouth to turn purple. The nymph subsequently requested that Heracles create a garment for her of that same color, with Heracles obliging her demands giving birth to Tyrian purple.


Associations and symbolism


Royalty

In Europe, since the time that the Roman emperors wore a Tyrian purple (''purpura'') toga praetexta, purple has been the color most associated with power and royalty. The British Royal Family and other European royalty still use it as a ceremonial color on special occasions.Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'', p. 162. In
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, purple is associated with the emperor and Japanese aristocracy. File:NorthernIrelandStamp1958 3D.jpg, A purple postage stamp honored
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
in 1958 File:Dronning Margrethe II (crop).jpg, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 2010.


Piety, faith, penitence, and theology

In the West, purple or violet is the color most associated with piety and religious faith. In AD 1464, shortly after the Muslim conquest of Constantinople, which terminated the supply of Tyrian purple to Roman Catholic Europe,
Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...
decreed that cardinals should henceforth wear scarlet instead of purple, the scarlet being dyed with expensive cochineal.
Bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
were assigned the color
amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
, being a pale and pinkish purple made then from a less-expensive mixture of indigo and cochineal. In the Latin Rite of the
Roman Catholic liturgy In the Catholic Church, liturgy is divine worship, the proclamation of the Gospel, and active charity. Catholic liturgies are broadly categorized as the Latin liturgical rites of the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic liturgies of the Easter ...
, purple symbolizes
penitence Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part i ...
;
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
and Catholic priests wear a purple stole when they hear confession and a purple stole and chasuble during
Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...
and
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
. Since the Second Vatican Council of 1962–5, priests may wear purple vestments, but may still wear black ones, when officiating at funerals. The '' Roman Missal'' permits black, purple (violet), or white vestments for the funeral Mass. White is worn when a child dies before the
age of reason The Age of reason, or the Enlightenment, was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th to 19th centuries. Age of reason or Age of Reason may also refer to: * Age of reason (canon law), ...
. Students and faculty of theology also wear purple academic dress for graduations and other university ceremonies. Purple is also often worn by senior pastors of Protestant churches and bishops of the Anglican Communion. File:Cardinals and bishops in Bruges escorted by police.jpg, In the Roman Catholic Church, cardinals now wear
scarlet Scarlet may refer to: * Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England * Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth * Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color * ...
and bishops wear
amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
. File:Katharine Jefferts Schori 2.jpg, Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States
The color purple is also associated with royalty in Christianity, being one of the three traditional offices of Jesus Christ, i. e. king, although such a symbolism was assumed from the earlier Roman association or at least also employed by the ancient Romans.


Vanity, extravagance, individualism

In Europe and America, purple is the color most associated with vanity, extravagance, and individualism. Among the seven deadly sins, it represents pride. It is a color which is used to attract attention.


The artificial, materialism and beauty

Purple is the color most often associated with the artificial and the unconventional. It is the major color that occurs the least frequently in nature, and was the first color to be synthesized.


Ambiguity and ambivalence

Purple is the color most associated with ambiguity. Like other colors made by combining two primary colors, it is seen as uncertain and equivocal.


Mourning

In Britain, purple is sometimes associated with mourning. In Victorian times, close relatives wore black for the first year following a death ("deep mourning"), and then replaced it with purple or dark green trimmed with black. This is rarely practised today.


In culture and society


Asian culture

* The Chinese word for purple, ''zi'', is connected with the North Star,
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
, or ''zi Wei'' in Chinese. In Chinese astrology, the North Star was the home of the Celestial Emperor, the ruler of the heavens. The area around the North Star is called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure in Chinese astronomy. For that reason the Forbidden City in Beijing was also known as the Purple Forbidden City (''zi Jin cheng''). *Purple was a popular color introduced into Japanese dress during the Heian period (794–1185). The dye was made from the root of the alkanet plant (''
Anchusa officinalis ''Anchusa officinalis'', commonly known as the common bugloss or alkanet, is a plant species in the genus ''Anchusa''. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per u ...
''), also known as ''murasaki'' in Japanese. At about the same time, Japanese painters began to use a pigment made from the same plant. *In Thailand, widows in mourning wear the color purple. Purple is also associated with Saturday on the Thai solar calendar. File:Eastern Han Luoyang Mural of Liubo players.jpg,
Han purple Han purple and Han blue (also called Chinese purple and Chinese blue) are synthetic barium copper silicate pigments developed in China and used in ancient and imperial China from the Western Zhou period (1045–771 BC) until the end of the Han dy ...
and
Han blue Han purple and Han blue (also called Chinese purple and Chinese blue) are synthetic barium copper silicate pigments developed in China and used in ancient and imperial China from the Western Zhou period (1045–771 BC) until the end of the Han ...
were synthetic colors made by artisans in China during the Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) or even earlier. File:Geisha apprentice (15801544380).jpg, A Japanese woman in a kimono. File:Emperor Kōmyō.jpg, Emperor Komyo of Japan. (1322–1380). Purple was the color of the aristocracy in Japan and China.


Engineering

The color purple plays a significant role in the traditions of engineering schools across Canada. Purple is also the color of the Engineering Corp in the British Military.


Idioms and expressions

* Purple prose refers to pretentious or overly embellished writing. For example, a paragraph containing an excessive number of long and unusual words is called a purple passage. * Born to the purple means someone who is born into a life of wealth and privilege. It originally was used to describe the rulers of the Byzantine Empire. *A purple patch is a period of exceptional success or good luck. The origins are obscure, but it may refer to the symbol of success of the Byzantine Court. Bishops in Byzantium wore a purple patch on their costume as a symbol of rank. *Purple haze refers to a state of mind induced by
psychedelic drug Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...
s, particularly LSD. *Wearing purple is a military slang expression in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for an officer who is serving in a joint assignment with another service, such as an Army officer on assignment to the Navy. The officer is symbolically putting aside his or her traditional uniform color and exclusive loyalty to their service during the joint assignment, though in fact they continue to wear their own service's uniform. * Purple squirrel is a term used by employment recruiters to describe a job candidate with precisely the right education, experience, and qualifications that perfectly fits a job's multifaceted requirements. The assumption is that the perfect candidate is as rare as a real-life purple squirrel.


Military

*The Purple Heart is a United States
military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medal ...
awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed during their service.


Politics

*In United States politics, a ''purple state'' is a state roughly balanced between
Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
(generally symbolized by red in the 21st century) and Democrats (symbolized by blue). *In the politics of the Netherlands, Purple ( nl, paars) means a coalition government consisting of liberals and social democrats (symbolized by the colors blue and red, respectively), as opposed to the more common coalitions of the Christian Democrats with one of the other two. Between 1994 and 2002 there were two Purple cabinets, both led by Prime Minister Wim Kok. *In the politics of Belgium, as with the Netherlands, a purple government includes liberal and social-democratic parties in coalition. Belgium was governed by Purple governments from 1999 to 2007 under the leadership of Prime Minister
Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
. *Purple is the primary color used by many European and American political parties, including Volt Europa, the UK Independence Party, the Social Democrats in the Republic of Ireland, the Liberal People's Party in Norway, and the United States Pirate Party. The Left party in Germany, whose primary color is red, is traditionally portrayed in purple on election maps to distinguish it from the
Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...
. *In the United Kingdom, the color scheme for the
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
movement in Britain and Ireland was designed with purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and green for hope.


Rhyme

*In the English language, the word "purple" has only one perfect rhyme, '' curple.'' Others are obscure perfect rhymes, such as '' hirple.'' ** Robert Burns rhymes purple with curple in his Epistle to Mrs. Scott. *Examples of imperfect rhymes or non-word rhymes with purple: ** In the song Grace Kelly by
Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...
the word purple is rhymed with "hurtful". ** In his hit song " Dang Me",
Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...
sings these lines:


Sexuality

Purple is sometimes associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) community. It is the symbolic color worn on
Spirit Day Spirit Day is an annual LGBTQ awareness day observed on the third Thursday in October. Started in 2010 by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan, it was initially created in response to a rash of widely publicized bullying-related suicides of ga ...
, a commemoration that began in 2010 to show support for young people who are bullied because of their sexual orientation. Purple is closely associated with bisexuality, largely in part to the bisexual pride flag which combines pink – representing homosexuality – and blue – representing heterosexuality – to create the bisexual purple. The purple hand is another symbol sometimes used by the LGBT community during parades and demonstrations.


Sports and games

*The National Basketball Association's
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
,
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
and Sacramento Kings use purple as their primary color. *In the Indian Premier League, purple is the primary color of the Kolkata Knight Riders. *In Major League Baseball, purple is one of the primary colors for the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
. *In the National Football League, the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens use purple as main colors. *The
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
's Fremantle Football Club use purple as one of their primary colors. *In association football (soccer), Italian Serie A club
ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...
, Belgian Pro League club and former Europa League winner
R.S.C. Anderlecht ; french: Les Mauves et Blancs) , short name = R.S.C.A. , founded = , ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium , capacity = 22,500 , owntitle = Chairman , owner = Wouter Vandenhaute , manager = Brian Riemer , ...
, French
Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
club
Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club is French professional football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the premier division of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium de Toulouse lo ...
and
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
club FC Istres, Spanish La Liga club Real Valladolid,
Austrian Football Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
club FK Austria Wien, Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Újpest FC, Slovenian PrvaLiga club
NK Maribor NK may refer to: Businesses *Imerys (Euronext ticker code NK) *Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in Stockholm, Sweden *Northrup-King Seed Company *Spirit Airlines (IATA code NK) *NK.pl, a Polish school-based social networking service Places ...
, former Romanian Liga I clubs
FC Politehnica Timișoara Fotbal Club Politehnica Timișoara (), commonly known as Politehnica Timișoara or simply Poli Timișoara, was a Romanian football club from Timișoara, Timiș County, established in 1921 and dissolved in 2012. During its existence, the team won ...
and
FC Argeș Pitești Asociația Clubul Sportiv Campionii Fotbal Club Argeș, commonly known as FC Argeș or Argeș Pitești (), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Pitești, Argeș County, which competes in the Liga I. The team was origi ...
, Andorran Primera Divisió club CE Principat, German club Tennis Borussia Berlin, Italian club
A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913 Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano, commonly referred to as Legnano, is an Italian football club based in Legnano, Lombardy. Founded in 1913, Legnano played three seasons in Serie A and a total of eleven seasons in the top tier of the ...
, Swedish club Fässbergs IF, Japanese club
Kyoto Sanga is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist temp ...
, Australian
A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
Club
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
and American
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
club Orlando City use purple as one of their primary colors. *The Melbourne Storm from Australia's National Rugby League use purple as one of their primary colors. *
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
's Primera División soccer team Deportivo Saprissa's main color is purple (actually a
burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
like shade), and their nickname is the "Monstruo Morado", or "Purple Monster". *In tennis, the official colors of the Wimbledon championships are deep green and purple (traditionally called mauve). *In American college athletics, Louisiana State University,
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
, Texas Christian University, the University of Central Arkansas, Northwestern University, the University of Washington, and
East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...
all have purple as one of their main team colors. *The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, and Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Canada, have purple as one of its main team colors. *Purple is the color of the ball in Snooker Plus with a 10-point value. *In the game of pool, purple is the color of the 4-solid and the 12-striped balls.


Business

The British chocolate company
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
chose purple as it was Queen Victoria's favourite color. The company trademarked the color purple for chocolates with registrations in 1995 and 2004. However, the validity of these trademarks is the matter of an ongoing legal dispute following objections by Nestlé.


In flags

* Purple or violet appear in the flags of only two modern sovereign nations, and are merely ancillary colors in both cases. The
Flag of Dominica The flag of Dominica was adopted on 3 November 1978, with some small changes having been made in 1981, 1988, and 1990. The original flag was designed by playwright Alwin Bully in early 1978 as the country prepared for independence. It is one o ...
features a sisserou parrot, a national symbol, while the Flag of Nicaragua displays a rainbow in the center, as part of the coat of arms of Nicaragua. * The lower band of the flag of the second Spanish republic (1931–39) was colored a tone of purple, to represent the common people as opposed to the red of the Spanish monarchy, unlike other nations of Europe where purple represented royalty and red represented the common people. * In Japan, the prefecture of Tokyo's flag is purple, as is the flag of Ichikawa. * Porpora, or
purpure In heraldry, purpure, () is a tincture, equivalent to the colour "purple", and is one of the five main or most usually used ''colours'' (as opposed to ''metals''). It may be portrayed in engravings by a series of parallel lines at a 45-degree angl ...
, a shade of purple, was added late to the list of colors of European
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
. A purple lion was the symbol of the old Spanish
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...
(910–1230), and it later appeared on the flag of Spain, when the Kingdom of Castile and Kingdom of León merged. File:Flag of Dominica.svg,
Flag of Dominica The flag of Dominica was adopted on 3 November 1978, with some small changes having been made in 1981, 1988, and 1990. The original flag was designed by playwright Alwin Bully in early 1978 as the country prepared for independence. It is one o ...
, features a purple sisserou parrot. File:Flag of Nicaragua.svg, Flag of Nicaragua, although at this size the purple band of the rainbow is nearly indistinguishable. File:Flag of Spain 1931 1939.svg, Flag of the second Spanish republic (1931–39), known in Spanish as ', still widely used by left-wing political organizations.


See also

* Byzantium (color) *
Carmine (color) Carmine color is the general term for some deep red colors that are ''very slightly'' purplish but are generally ''slightly'' closer to red than the color crimson is. Some rubies are colored the color shown below as ''rich carmine''. The deep ...
* Cerise (color) * Lavender (color) * List of colors *
Orchid (color) Orchid is a bright rich purple color that resembles the color which various orchids often exhibit. Various tones of ''orchid'' may range from grayish purple to purplish-pink to strong reddish purple. The first recorded use of ''orchid'' as a c ...
* Purple (cipher machine) *
Purple Francis ''Left 4 Dead'' is a series of cooperative first-person shooter survival horror video games published by Valve Corporation, Valve. Set in the days after a pandemic outbreak of a viral strain transforming people into zombie-like feral creatures, ...
*
Purple Mark Mark Wirth, better known as Purple Mark, is a Seattle, Washington (state), Washington resident who has become locally known, especially around the Capitol Hill (Seattle), Capitol Hill neighborhood where he lives, for his colorful attire and his equ ...
*
Raspberry (color) Raspberry is a color that resembles the color of raspberries. The first recorded use of ''raspberry'' as a color name in English was in 1892. Variations French raspberry At right is displayed the color French raspberry, which is the deep ...
* Rose (color) * Ruby (color) *
Shades of magenta The color magenta has notable tints and shades. These various colors are shown below. Definition of magenta Magenta is a color made up of equal parts of red and blue light. This would be the precise definition of the color as defined for compu ...
* Shades of purple * Ultramarine * Violet (color)


References


Further references

* * * * * * * * * "The perception of color", from Schiffman, H.R. (1990). ''Sensation and perception: An integrated approach'' (3rd edition). New York: John Wiley & Sons. {{Authority control Secondary colors Quaternary colors Shades of violet Web colors