Violet is a color term derived from the flower of the same name. There are numerous variations of the color violet, a sampling of which are shown below.

Definition

The term violet has different meanings in different languages, countries and epochs. Even among many modern speakers within the English-speaking world there is confusion about the terms purple and violet. The blue-dominated spectral color beyond blue is referred to as purple by many speakers in the United States, but this color is called violet by many speakers in the United Kingdom. In some British authoritative texts the term purple refers to any mixture of red and blue, suggesting the color term purple covers the full range between red and blue in the United Kingdom. In other texts it is the term violet that covers the same full range of colors. The uncertainty about the range of meanings of the color terms violet and purple is even larger when other languages and historical texts are considered.

Variations of spectral violet

Although pure spectrum violet is outside the

color gamut In color reproduction, including computer graphics and photography, the gamut, or color gamut , is a certain ''complete subset'' of colors. The most common usage refers to the subset of colors which can be accurately represented in a given ci ...

of the

RGB color space An RGB color space is any additive color space based on the RGB color model. An RGB color space is defined by chromaticity coordinates of the red, green, and blue additive primaries, the white point which is usually a standard illuminant, an ...

, the three colors displayed below are rough approximations of the range of colors of actual spectral violet, although the accuracy of the approximation can vary depending on the individual's color vision, and on the color rendition of one's computer monitor.

Color wheel violet

The

tertiary color A tertiary color or intermediate color is a color made by mixing full saturation of one primary color with half saturation of another primary color and none of a third primary color, in a given color space such as RGB, CMYK (more modern) or RYB ...

on the HSV

color wheel A color wheel or color circle is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle, which shows the relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors etc. Some sources use the terms ''color wheel'' ...

(also known as the RGB color wheel) precisely halfway between

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

and

magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

is called color wheel violet. This tone of violet—an approximation of the color violet at about 417 nanometers as plotted on the CIE chromaticity diagram—is shown at right. This tone of violet is actually somewhat toward

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

assuming indigo is accepted as a separate spectrum color, usually quoted as having a range of from about 420 to 450 nanometers. Another name for this color is near violet.

Electric violet

The color at right, electric violet, is the closest approximation to middle ''spectrum violet'' that can be made on a computer screen, given the limitations of the sRGB

. It is an approximation of the color violet at about 400 nanometers as plotted on the CIE chromaticity diagram, in the middle of the violet range of from 380 nanometers to 420 nanometers, assuming indigo as a separate spectrum color from 420 to 450 nanometers. Other names for this color are middle violet or simply violet.

Vivid violet

Displayed at right is the color vivid violet, a color approximately equivalent to the violet seen at the extreme edge of human visual perception. When plotted on the CIE chromaticity diagram, it can be seen that this is a

hue In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that ...

corresponding to that of a visual stimulus of approximately 380 nm on the spectrum. Thus another name for this color is extreme violet.

Computer web color violets

Web color "violet"

The so-called

web color Web colors are colors used in displaying web pages on the World Wide Web, and the methods for describing and specifying those colors. Colors may be specified as an RGB triplet or in hexadecimal format (a ''hex triplet'') or according to their c ...

"violet" is in actuality not really a tint of violet, a spectral color, but is a non-spectral color. The web color violet is actually a rather pale

tint In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. Both processes affect the resulting color mixture's relative saturation. A tone is produce ...

because it has equal amounts of red and blue (the definition of magenta for computer display), and some of the green primary mixed in, unlike most other variants of violet that are closer to blue. This same color appears as "violet" in the

X11 color names In computing, on the X Window System, X11 color names are represented in a simple text file, which maps certain strings to RGB color values. It was traditionally shipped with every X11 installation, hence the name, and is usually located in ''< ...

Pigment violet (web color dark violet)

The color box at right displays the web color dark violet which is equivalent to pigment violet, i.e., the color violet as it would typically be reproduced by artist's paints, colored pencils, or crayons as opposed to the brighter "electric" violet above that it is possible to reproduce on a computer screen. Compare the subtractive colors to the additive colors in the two primary color charts in the article on primary colors to see the distinction between electric colors as reproducible from light on a computer screen (additive colors) and the pigment colors reproducible with pigments (subtractive colors); the additive colors are a lot brighter because they are produced from light instead of pigment. Pigment violet (web color dark violet) represents the way the color violet was always reproduced in pigments, paints, or colored pencils in the 1950s. By the 1970s, because of the advent of

psychedelic art Psychedelic art (also known as psychedelia) is art, graphics or visual displays related to or inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. The word ...

, artists became used to brighter pigments, and pigments called "Violet" that are the pigment equivalent of the electric violet reproduced in the section above became available in artists pigments and colored pencils. (When approximating electric violet in artists pigments, a bit of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

pigment is added to pigment violet.)

Other variations of the color violet

Ultra Violet (Pantone)

The color Ultra Violet is displayed at right. The source of this color is 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 graphi ...

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-3838 TPX—Ultra Violet. Ultra Violet was named as Pantone's Color of the Year for 2018. It should not be confused with

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...

African violet

The color African violet is displayed at right. The source of this color is the "

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #16-3250 TPX—African Violet.

Chinese violet

The color Chinese violet is displayed at right. The first recorded use of ''Chinese violet'' as a color name in English was in 1912. The source of this color is the "

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-3418 TPX—Chinese Violet.

English violet

The color English violet is displayed at right. The first recorded use of ''English violet'' as a color name in English was in 1928.

French violet

At right is displayed the color French violet, which is the tone of violet that is called ''violet'' 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Japanese violet

The color Japanese violet or Sumire is shown at right. This is the color called "violet" in the traditional Japanese colors group, a group of colors in use since beginning in 660 CE in the form of various dyes that are used in designing

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

. The name of this color in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

is , meaning "violet color".

Spanish violet

Spanish violet is the color that is called ''Violeta'' (the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word for "violet") in the ''Guía de coloraciones'' (''Guide to colorations'') by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

Russian violet

The color Russian violet is displayed at right. The first recorded use of ''Russian violet'' as a color name in English was in 1926.

Grape

Grape is a color that is a representation of the color of grapes. It is currently unknown when ''grape'' was first used as a color name in English, but in 1994, "grape" was made into one of the Crayola Magic Scent crayon colors.

Lavender

At right is displayed the color lavender. This color may also be called lavender (floral) or floral lavender to distinguish it from the

lavender. It is the color of the central part of the

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 ...

flower. The first recorded use of the word ''lavender'' as a color term in English was in 1705. Since the color ''lavender'' has a hue code of 275, it may be regarded as a light tone of violet.

Mauve

Mauve (from the French form of ''Malva'' " mallow") is a color that is named after the mallow

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

. Another name for the color is mallow with the first recorded use of ''mallow'' as a color name in English in 1611.Maerz and Paul ''A Dictionary of Color'' New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 198; Color Sample of Mallow: Page 125 Plate 51 Color Sample I3 Since the color ''mauve'' has a hue code of 276, it may be regarded as a pale tone of violet.

Wisteria

Displayed at right is the color wisteria. It represents the color of

wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and north ...

blooms. A crayon of this color and name was formulated by

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...

in 1993.

Pixie Powder

Displayed at right is the color Pixie Powder.

References

External links

{{EMSpectrum simple:Violet