Purplish
/ˈpɜːr.pəl.ɪʃ/noun
Somewhat purple in color.
Did you know?Purple’s prestige came from Tyrian purple, an expensive dye from sea snails, so the color word carried centuries of luxury before English added the softening suffix -ish.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*per-
“A base root meaning 'reddish-brown, dark' in the ancestry of several color words.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πορφύρα (porphyra)
“Purple dye, purple cloth, or the purple-red color itself.”
Latin
Latin
purpura
“Purple dye, purple garment, or the color purple.”
Old French
Old French
pourpre
“Purple; purple cloth or dye.”
Middle English
English
purpul
“Purple in color.”
Modern English
English
purplish
“Somewhat purple; having a purple tint.”