View source for Purple

{{Short description|Range of colors with the hues between blue and red}}
{{About|the color}}
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{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Infobox color
| title=Purple
| image={{photomontage
|photo1a=Iris sanguinea cultivar, Wakehurst Place, UK - Diliff.jpg
|photo1b=Ghent Altarpiece D - Popes - Bishops.jpg
|photo2a=M81.jpg
|photo2b=Segmented_aubergine_Thailand.jpg
|photo3a=Auke Bay Alaska 2.jpg 
| size = 243
}}
| caption=Clockwise, from top left: an [[iris (plant)|iris]]; bishops; an [[eggplant]]; [[sunset]]; [[Messier 81]]
| hex=800080
| source=[[HTML color names]]
|cmyk=(0, 100, 0, 50)}}

'''Purple''' is a [[color]] similar in appearance to [[Violet (color)|violet]] light. In the [[RYB color model]] historically used in the arts, purple is a [[secondary color]] created by combining red and blue pigments. In the [[CMYK color model]] used in modern printing, purple is made by combining [[magenta]] pigment with either [[cyan]] pigment, [[black]] pigment, or both. In the [[RGB color model]] used in computer and television screens, purple is created by [[Additive color|mixing]] red and blue light in order to create colors that appear similar to violet light. According to [[color theory]], purple is considered a [[cool color]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guide to Warm and Cool Paint Colors {{!}} Benjamin Moore |url=https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/color-insights/warm-and-cool-colors |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.benjaminmoore.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

Purple has long been associated with royalty, originally because [[Tyrian Purple|Tyrian purple]] dye—made from the secretions of sea snails—was extremely expensive in antiquity.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dunn|first=Casey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/science/the-color-of-royalty-bestowed-by-science-and-snails.html|title=The Color of Royalty, Bestowed by Science and Snails|date=2013-10-09|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-04|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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 [[bishop]]s. Similarly in [[Japan]], the color is traditionally associated with the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] and aristocracy.<ref name="HibiFukuda2000">{{cite book|author1=Sadao Hibi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HkYtKPrjGEC|title=The Colors of Japan|author2=Kunio Fukuda|date=January 2000|publisher=Kodansha International|isbn=978-4-7700-2536-4}}</ref>

According to contemporary surveys in Europe and the United States, purple is the color most often associated with rarity, royalty, luxury, ambition, magic, mystery, [[piety]] and spirituality.<ref>Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques''</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Iosso|first=Chris|date=2019-11-23|title=Impeachment and the Perils of Purple Piety: Why You Should Hold a Forum at Your Church|url=https://justiceunbound.org/impeachment-and-the-perils-of-purple-piety-why-you-should-hold-a-forum-at-your-church/|access-date=2021-05-06|website=Unbound|language=en-US}}</ref> When combined with [[pink]], it is associated with [[eroticism]], [[femininity]], and [[seduction]].<ref>Heller, Eva: ''Psychologie de la couleur – effets et symboliques'', pp. 179-184</ref>

== Etymology and definitions ==
The modern English word ''purple'' comes from the [[Old English]] ''purpul,'' which derives from [[Latin]] ''purpura'', which, in turn, derives from the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|πορφύρα}} (''porphura''),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dporfu%2Fra πορφύρα] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307233455/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dporfu%2Fra |date=2021-03-07 }}, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> the name of the [[Tyrian purple]] [[dye]] manufactured in classical antiquity from a mucus secreted by the [[Bolinus brandaris|spiny dye-murex]] snail.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=purple, adj. and n. |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/154956 |access-date=2020-04-04 |website=OED Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Online Etymology Dictionary|url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=purple|website=Etymonline.com}}</ref> The first recorded use of the word ''purple'' dates to the late 900s AD.<ref name=":1" />

== In art, history, and fashion ==
=== In prehistory and the ancient world ===
{{Main|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]] 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.<ref>Anne Varichon, ''Couleurs-pigments dans les mains des peuples'', p. 144–146</ref>

Purple textiles, dating back to the early second millennium BCE, were found in [[Syria]], making them the oldest known purple textiles in the world. These findings include textiles from a burial site in [[Chagar Bazar]], dating back to the 18th-16th centuries BCE, as well as preserved textile samples discovered in gypsum at the Royal Palace of [[Qatna]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=James |first1=Matthew A. |last2=Reifarth |first2=Nicole |last3=Mukherjee |first3=Anna J. |last4=Crump |first4=Matthew P. |last5=Gates |first5=Paul J. |last6=Sandor |first6=Peter |last7=Robertson |first7=Francesca |last8=Pfälzner |first8=Peter |last9=Evershed |first9=Richard P. |date=December 2009 |title=High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the Bronze Age royal tomb at Qatna, Syria |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/high-prestige-royal-purple-dyed-textiles-from-the-bronze-age-royal-tomb-at-qatna-syria/69EC1A74600EC74AAAC26D2F585ACF5A |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=83 |issue=322 |pages=1109–1118 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00099397 |s2cid=162563421 |issn=0003-598X|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sukenik |first1=Naama |last2=Iluz |first2=David |last3=Amar |first3=Zohar |last4=Varvak |first4=Alexander |last5=Shamir |first5=Orit |last6=Ben-Yosef |first6=Erez |date=2021-01-28 |title=Early evidence of royal purple dyed textile from Timna Valley (Israel) |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=16 |issue=1 |article-number=e0245897 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0245897 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=7842898 |pmid=33507987 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1645897S |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Karapanagiotis |first=Ioannis |date=2019-01-29 |title=A Review on the Archaeological Chemistry of Shellfish Purple |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=11 |issue=13 |page=3595 |doi=10.3390/su11133595 |bibcode=2019Sust...11.3595K |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

As early as the 15th century BC, the citizens of [[Sidon]] and [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], two cities on the coast of Ancient [[Phoenicia]] (present day Lebanon), were producing purple dye from a sea snail called the [[Bolinus brandaris|spiny dye-murex]].<ref name="Ball, Philip p. 290">Ball, Philip, ''Bright Earth; Art and the Invention of Colour''.  p. 290</ref> Clothing colored with the Tyrian dye was mentioned in both the ''[[Iliad]]'' of [[Homer]] and the ''[[Aeneid]]''  of [[Virgil]].<ref name="Ball, Philip p. 290" /> The deep, rich purple dye made from this snail became known as Tyrian purple.<ref>Anne Varichon, ''Couleurs-pigments dans les mains des peuples'', p. 135–138</ref>

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.<ref>Anne Varichon, ''Couleurs-pigments dans les mains des peuples'', p. 135</ref>

Tyrian purple became the color of kings, nobles, priests and magistrates all around the Mediterranean. It was mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Old Testament]]); in the [[Book of Exodus]], God instructs [[Moses]] to have the [[Israelites]] bring him an offering including cloth "of blue, and purple, and scarlet,"<ref>KJV Book of Exodus 25:4</ref> to be used in the curtains of the [[Tabernacle]] and the garments of priests. The term used for purple in the 4th-century [[Vulgate|Latin Vulgate]] version of the Bible passage is ''purpura'' or Tyrian purple.<ref name="Bible Gateway">{{cite web | title=Biblia Sacra Vulgata |website=Bible Gateway | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+25&version=VULGATE | language=la | access-date=2020-05-19}}</ref> In the ''[[Iliad]]'' of [[Homer]], the belt of [[Ajax the Great|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]] are purple. In the poems of [[Sappho]] (6th century BC) she celebrates the skill of the dyers of the Greek kingdom of [[Lydia]] 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]] was reported to have brought artisans from Tyre to provide purple fabrics to decorate the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple of Jerusalem]].<ref>Anne Varichon (2000), ''Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples'', p.&nbsp;136</ref>

[[Alexander the Great]] (when giving imperial audiences as the [[basileus]] of the [[Macedonian Empire]]), the basileus of the [[Seleucid Empire]], and the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|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,<ref>Liv. xxiv. 7, 2. As cited by ''[[The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]''.</ref> [[Magistratus Curulis|curule magistrates]],<ref>cf. Cic. ''post red. in Sen.'' 5, 12. As cited by ''[[The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]''.</ref><ref>Zonar. vii. 19.  As cited by ''[[The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]''</ref> certain categories of priests,<ref>Liv. xxvii. 8, 8; xxxiii. 42. As cited by ''[[The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]''</ref> 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 [[Roman triumph|triumphs]], and by the [[Praetor Urbanus]] when he rode in the chariot of the gods into the circus at the [[Ludi Apollinares]].<ref>cf. Liv. v. 41, 2. As cited by ''[[The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]''.</ref> During the Empire, the ''toga picta'' was worn by magistrates giving public [[gladiator]]ial games, and by the [[consul]]s, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mmdtkw.org/VPurple.html |title=Tyrian Purple in Ancient Rome |publisher=Mmdtkw.org |access-date=2012-12-29}}</ref> Suetonius claims that the early emperor [[Caligula]] had the [[Ptolemy of Mauretania|King of Mauretania]] murdered for the splendour of his purple cloak, and that [[Nero]] forbade the use of certain purple dyes.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/suetonius/12caesars/home.html|title=The Lives of the Twelve Caesars|last=Suetonius|series=Loeb Classical Library|publisher=Heinemann|publication-date=1914|year=121|translator-last=Rolfe|translator-first=John Carew|translator-link=John Carew Rolfe|language=la, en|access-date=2017-03-28}}</ref> In the late empire the sale of purple cloth became a state monopoly protected by the death penalty.<ref name="Marzano2013">{{cite book|author=Annalisa Marzano|title=Harvesting the Sea: The Exploitation of Marine Resources in the Roman Mediterranean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQ0oAAAAQBAJ|date=1 August 2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-967562-3|page=150}}</ref>

According to the [[New Testament]], [[Jesus Christ]], in the hours leading up to [[Crucifixion of Jesus|his crucifixion]], was dressed in purple (πορφύρα: ''porphura'') by the Roman garrison to mock his claim to be '[[Jesus, King of the Jews|King of the Jews]]'.<ref>Mark 15:17 and 20</ref>

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]]'', 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.<ref>John Gage (2009), ''La Couleur dans l'art'', p.&nbsp;148–150.</ref>

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.<ref>Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'', p.&nbsp;163</ref><ref>Phillip Ball (2001), ''Bright Earth, Art, and the Invention of Colour'', p.&nbsp;291</ref>

==== China ====
{{main|Han purple and Han blue}}
In ancient China, purple was obtained not through the Mediterranean mollusc, but [[Lithospermum erythrorhizon|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, [[Duke Huan of Qi]], 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.<ref name="Thieme">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.</ref>

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.<ref name="Liu"/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/content/science/highlight/2007-03-30/ancient-warriors-and-origin-chinese-purple |title= Ancient Warriors and the Origin of Chinese Purple |website=Stanford University |date= 30 March 2007 }}</ref> The use of quartz, barium, and lead components in [[ancient Chinese glass]] and Han purple and Han blue has been used to suggest a connection between glassmaking and the manufacture of pigments,<ref name="FitzHugh and Zycherman 1983">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.</ref> and to prove the independence of the Chinese invention.<ref name="Liu">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.jas.2007.01.005|title=Influence of Taoism on the invention of the purple pigment used on the Qin terracotta warriors|year=2007|last1=Liu|first1=Z.|last2=Mehta|first2=A.|last3=Tamura|first3=N.|last4=Pickard|first4=D.|last5=Rong|first5=B.|last6=Zhou|first6=T.|last7=Pianetta|first7=P.|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|volume=34|page=1878|issue=11 |bibcode=2007JArSc..34.1878L |citeseerx=10.1.1.381.8552|s2cid=17797649 | issn=0305-4403}}</ref>  [[Taoist]] [[alchemy|alchemists]] may have developed Han purple from their knowledge of glassmaking.<ref name="Liu"/>

Lead is used by the pigment maker to lower the melting point of the barium in Han Purple.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://hyperallergic.com/165493/a-lost-purple-pigment-where-quantum-physics-and-the-terracotta-warriors-collide/ |title= A Lost Purple Pigment, Where Quantum Physics and the Terracotta Warriors Collide|date= 18 December 2014}}</ref>

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 AD, purple was ranked above crimson. Several changes to the ranks of colors occurred after that time.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
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 civilization|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.
</gallery>

=== 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. [[Gospels|Gospel]] [[manuscript]]s were written in gold lettering on [[parchment]] that was colored Tyrian purple.<ref>Varichon, Anne ''Colors: What They Mean and How to Make Them'' New York:2006 Abrams Page 140 – This information is in the caption of a [[color printing|color]] illustration showing an 8th-century manuscript page of the [[Gospel of Luke]] written in gold on Tyrian purple parchment.</ref> 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]] in 1453, the color lost its imperial status. The great dye works of Constantinople were destroyed, and gradually [[scarlet (color)|scarlet]], made with dye from the [[cochineal]] insect, became the royal color in Europe.<ref>Anne Varichon (2000), ''Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples'', p.&nbsp;137–38</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:11th century Byzantine griffins.gif|11th-century [[Byzantine]] robe, dyed [[Tyrian purple]] with [[Murex#Human use|murex]] dye. Creatures are [[griffin]]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.
</gallery>

=== The Middle Ages and Renaissance ===
In 1464, [[Pope Paul II]] decreed that cardinals should no longer wear Tyrian purple, and instead wear scarlet, from [[kermes (dye)|kermes]] and alum,<ref>{{cite web|author=LaVerne M. Dutton|title= ''Cochineal: A Bright Red Animal Dye''|page=57|url=http://www.cochineal.info/pdf/Ch-5-History-Dyes-Dying-Industry-Old-World-Cochineal-Industry.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.cochineal.info/pdf/Ch-5-History-Dyes-Dying-Industry-Old-World-Cochineal-Industry.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|website=Cochineal.info}}</ref> 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)|kermes]] dye.<ref>Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'', p.&nbsp;165.</ref><ref>Elena Phipps, ''Cochineal red: The art history of a color'', p.&nbsp;26.</ref>

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 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.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Aquileia Basilica - Krypta Fresco Bischofsweihe Hermagoras.jpg|A 12th-century painting of [[Saint Peter]] consecrating [[Hermagoras of Aquileia|Hermagoras]], wearing purple, as a bishop.
File:Ghent Altarpiece D - Popes - Bishops.jpg|In the ''[[Ghent Altarpiece]]'' (1422) by [[Jan van Eyck]], 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)
</gallery>

=== 18th and 19th centuries ===
In the 18th century, purple was still worn on occasion by [[Catherine the Great]] 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]], shortened simply to [[mauve]]. It took its name from the mallow flower, which is the same color.<ref name="Grovier">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180801-tyrian-purple-the-regal-colour-taken-from-mollusc-mucus|title=Tyrian Purple: The disgusting origins of the colour purple|last=Grovier|first=Kelly|date=August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2018-08-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|author=Garfield, S.|year=2000|title=Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour That Changed the World |publisher=Faber and Faber, London, UK|isbn=978-0-571-20197-6}}</ref>

Purple was popular with the [[pre-Raphaelite]] painters in Britain, including [[Arthur Hughes (artist)|Arthur Hughes]], who loved bright colors and romantic scenes.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Dahl, Michael - Queen Anne - NPG 6187.jpg|Queen [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne of Great Britain]] in golden dress and a purple velvet and ermine mantle (1705)
File:Gustav III (1746-1792).jpg|King [[Gustav III of Sweden]] (1779)
File:Rokotov ekaterina.jpg|Portrait of Empress [[Catherine the Great]] of Russia, by [[Fyodor Rokotov]]. (State Hermitage Museum).
File:A imperatriz e filhos.jpg|Empress [[Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies|Teresa Cristina of Brazil]] with her children (1849)
File:Arthur Hughes - April Love - Google Art Project.jpg|In England, [[pre-Raphaelite]] painters like [[Arthur Hughes (artist)|Arthur Hughes]] were particularly enchanted by purple and violet. This is ''[[April Love (painting)|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, Count of Eu|Prince Gaston]] and their son, the [[Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará|Prince of Grão-Pará]] at purple dusk  (1877)
File:Uniform Albert I, Koning der Belgen.JPG|[[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] founded in 1830.
</gallery>

=== 20th and 21st centuries ===
At the turn of the century, purple was a favorite color of the Austrian painter [[Gustav Klimt]], 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]] 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 [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|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]].<ref>Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'', image 75–76.</ref>

In the concentration camps of [[Nazi Germany]], prisoners who were members of non-conformist religious groups, such as the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], were required to wear a [[purple triangle]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/knocking/holocaust.html |title=Independent Lens . KNOCKING . Jehovah's Witnesses . The Holocaust |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=2019-12-08 |archive-date=2019-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530175559/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/knocking/holocaust.html }}</ref>

During the 1960s and early 1970s, it was also associated with [[counterculture]], [[psychedelics]], and musicians like [[Jimi Hendrix]] with his 1967 song "[[Purple Haze]]", or the English [[psychedelic rock|rock]] band of [[Deep Purple]] which formed in 1968. Later, in the 1980s, it was featured in the song and album ''[[Purple Rain (album)|Purple Rain]]'' (1984) by the American musician [[Prince (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.<ref name="ReferenceA">Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Gustav Klimt 009.jpg|[[Gustav Klimt]] portrait of woman with a purple hat (1912).
File:Bishop Irenaeus (Ćirić).jpg|Serbian Orthodox bishop in [[mandyas]] (1923).
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]], 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:Donald Trump state visit to Saudi Arabia, 2025-05-13 P20250513MR-0383.jpg|Purple carpets used during [[Donald Trump]] state visit to [[Saudi Arabia]] (2025).
</gallery>

== 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.<ref name="Computational evidence of first ext">{{cite journal |last1=Tager |first1=A. |last2=Kirchner |first2=E. |last3=Fedorovskaya |first3=E. |title=Computational evidence of first extensive usage of violet in the 1860s |journal=Color Research & Application |date=2021 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=961–977 |doi=10.1002/col.22638|s2cid=233671776 }}</ref> Optics research on purple and violet contains contributions of authors from different countries and different native languages, it is likely to be inconsistent in the use and meaning of the two colors.

According to some speakers/authors of English, purple, unlike violet, is not one of the colors of the [[visible spectrum]].<ref name="StClair">{{Cite book|title=The Secret Lives of Colour|last=St. Clair|first=Kassia|publisher=John Murray|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4736-3081-9|location=London|page=159|oclc=936144129}}</ref> It was not one of the colors of the rainbow identified by [[Isaac Newton]]. According to some authors, purple does not have its own [[wavelength]] of light. For this reason, it is sometimes called a ''[[Spectral color#Extra-spectral colors|non-spectral color]]''. According to some speakers of English, purple is simply a combination, in various proportions, of two primary colors, red and blue.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matschi |first1=M. |title=Color terms in English: Onomasiological and Semasiological aspects |journal=Onomasiology Online |date=2005 |volume=5 |pages=56–139 }}</ref> According to other speakers of English, the same range of colors is called violet.<ref name="The ANLAB colour system and the dye">{{cite journal|last1=Cooper|first1=A.C.|last2=McLaren|first2=K.|date=1973|title=The ANLAB colour system and the dyer's variables of "shade" and strength|journal=Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists|volume=89|issue=2|pages=41–45|doi=10.1111/j.1478-4408.1973.tb03128.x}}</ref>

In some textbooks of [[color theory]], and depending on the geographical-cultural origin of the author, a "purple" is defined as any [[Spectral color#Extra-spectral colors|non-spectral color]] between [[Violet (color)|violet]] and red (excluding violet and red themselves).<ref name="gilbert222" /> In that case, the [[spectral color]] violet would not be shades of purple. For other speakers of English, these colors are shades of purple.

In the traditional color wheel long used by painters, purple is placed between crimson and violet.<ref>See ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition</ref> 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 [[HSV color space|color wheel]], purple is placed between magenta and violet. This shade is sometimes called electric purple (see [[shades of purple]]).<ref>Lanier F. (editor) ''The Rainbow Book'' Berkeley, California: Shambhala Publications and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (1976) (Handbook for the Summer 1976 exhibition ''The Rainbow Art Show'' which took place primarily at the [[De Young Museum]] but also at other museums) Portfolio of color wheels by famous theoreticians—see Rood color wheel (1879) p. 93</ref>

In the [[RGB color model]], 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 between full power and darkness.

In color printing, purple is sometimes represented by the color [[magenta]] mixed with cyan or black 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).

=== Relationship with violet ===
[[File:Line_of_purples.png|thumb|This [[CIE chromaticity diagram]] highlights the [[line of purples]] at its base, running from the violet corner near the left to the red corner at the right.]]
Purple is closely associated with [[Violet (color)|violet]]. In common usage, both refer to a variety of colors between blue and red in [[hue]].<ref name="Computational evidence of first ext3">{{cite journal |last1=Tager |first1=A. |last2=Kirchner |first2=E. |last3=Fedorovskaya |first3=E. |date=2021 |title=Computational evidence of first extensive usage of violet in the 1860s |journal=Color Research & Application |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=961–977 |doi=10.1002/col.22638 |s2cid=233671776}}</ref><ref name="Color - the secret influence2">{{cite book |last1=Fehrman |first1=K.R. |title=Color - the secret influence |last2=Fehrman |first2=C. |date=2004 |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Upper Saddle River}}</ref><ref name=":33">{{cite journal |last1=Matschi |first1=M. |date=2005 |title=Color terms in English: Onomasiological and Semasiological aspects |journal=Onomasiology Online |volume=5 |pages=56–139}}</ref> Historically, purple has tended to be used for redder hues and violet for bluer hues.<ref name="Computational evidence of first ext3" /><ref name=":04">{{Cite web |title=violet, n.1 |url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/223648 |access-date=2020-04-06 |website=OED Online |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Violet |url=https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/violet |access-date=2020-04-06 |website=Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged}}</ref> In [[optics]], violet is a [[spectral color]]; 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,<ref name=":222">{{cite web |author=Georgia State University Department of Physics and Astronomy |title=Spectral Colors |url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/specol.html |access-date=20 October 2017 |website=HyperPhysics site}}</ref> whereas purple is the color of various combinations of red, blue, and violet light,<ref name="gilbert222">{{cite book |author=P. U.P. A Gilbert and Willy Haeberli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSRqXvZ67lQC&pg=PA112 |title=Physics in the Arts |publisher=Academic Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-12-374150-9 |page=112}}</ref><ref name=":33" /> some of which humans perceive as similar to violet.

On a [[chromaticity diagram]], the straight line connecting the extreme spectral colors (red and violet) is known as the [[line of purples]] (or 'purple boundary'); it represents one limit of human [[Color vision|color perception]]. 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 1931 color space|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]], or the purple line.<ref>{{cite book|title = Digital video and HDTV|author = Charles A. Poynton|publisher = Morgan Kaufmann|year = 2003|isbn = 1-55860-792-7|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ra1lcAwgvq4C&pg=RA1-PA221}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title = Handbook of Optoelectronics|author = John Dakin and Robert G. W. Brown|publisher = CRC Press|year = 2006|isbn = 0-7503-0646-7|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fY98hmhWp58C&pg=PA381}}</ref>
{{Clear}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
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]].
File:CIExy1931.png|The [[CIE 1931 color space|CIE xy chromaticity diagram]]
</gallery>

=== Pigments ===
*[[Hematite]] 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]] which, when ground coarsely, makes a purple pigment. One such pigment is [[caput mortuum (pigment)|caput mortuum]], whose name is also used in reference to [[mummy brown]]. The latter is another pigment containing hematite and historically produced with the use of mummified corpses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rApTzWboLrA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/rApTzWboLrA| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=The Library of Rare Colors|last=Tom|first=Scott|date=18 March 2019|access-date=8 May 2019|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Some of its compositions produce a purple color and may be called "mummy violet".<ref>{{cite web| title =Mummy Brown| publisher =naturalpigments.com| url =http://www.naturalpigments.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=460-22S| access-date =2008-02-08| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20040816025813/http://www.naturalpigments.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=460-22S| archive-date =2004-08-16}}</ref> Manganese was also used in Roman times to color glass purple.<ref>Anne Varichon, ''Couleurs-pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples'', p. 146</ref>
*[[Han purple]] 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 (pigment)|minium]]. 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.<ref name="Anne Carichon 2000 p.&nbsp;133" />

*[[Cobalt violet]] was the first modern synthetic color in the purple family, manufactured in 1859. It was found, along with [[cobalt blue]], 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.<ref>Isabelle Roelofs, ''La Couleur Expliquée aux artistes, 52–53.''</ref>
*[[Manganese violet]] was a stronger color than cobalt violet, and replaced it on the market.
*[[Quinacridone]] 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.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Lascaux painting.jpg|[[Manganese]] pigments were used in the [[neolithic]] paintings in the [[Lascaux cave]], France.
File:Hematite.jpg|[[Hematite]] 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]] is a synthetic pigment invented in the mid-19th century.
File:CI Pigment Violet 19 Beta.JPG|[[Quinacridone]] violet, a synthetic organic pigment sold under many different names.
</gallery>

=== 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).<ref name="StClair" />

In western [[Polynesia]], residents of the islands made a purple dye similar to Tyrian purple from the [[sea urchin]]. In Central America, the inhabitants made a dye from a different sea snail, the [[Purpura (gastropod)|purpura]], found on the coasts of [[Costa Rica]] and [[Nicaragua]]. The [[Maya peoples|Mayans]] used this color to dye fabric for religious ceremonies, while the [[Aztecs]] used it for paintings of ideograms, where it symbolized royalty.<ref name="Anne Carichon 2000 p.&nbsp;133">Anne Carichon (2000), ''Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples''. p.&nbsp;133.</ref>

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.<ref name="StClair2">{{Cite book|title=The Secret Lives of Colour|last=St. Clair|first=Kassia|publisher=John Murray|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4736-3081-9|location=London|page=211|oclc=936144129}}</ref> Most purple fabric was made by the dyers who worked with red, and who used dye from [[Rubia|madder]] or [[cochineal]], so medieval violet colors were inclined toward red.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clayton |first=Graham |date=2016-03-23 |title=What colour are you? A focus on Purple and Violet |url=https://sdc.org.uk/what-colour-are-you-a-focus-on-purple-and-violet/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=SDC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[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]] called archil or dyer's moss ([[Roccella tinctoria]]), combined with an [[ammoniac]], 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.<ref>Anne Carichon (2000), ''Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples''. p.&nbsp;144.</ref>

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]]. 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]] 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]], 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]] extracted from [[orchil]] [[lichen]]s that can be used to dye [[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]], [[cerulean blue]]  and [[cobalt green]]. 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.<ref name="Computational evidence of first ext"/>

'''[[Mauveine]]''', also known as '''[[aniline]] purple''' and '''Perkin's [[mauve]]''', was the first synthetic [[organic chemistry|organic chemical]] [[dye]],<ref>{{cite journal
| title=  History: 150 Years of mauveine
| author= Hubner K
| journal=  Chemie in unserer Zeit
| year=  2006
| volume=  40
| issue=  4
| pages= 274–275
| doi= 10.1002/ciuz.200690054 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| title=  Perkin's Mauve: Ancestor of the Organic Chemical Industry
| author= Anthony S. Travis
| journal=  Technology and Culture
| year=  1990
| volume=  31
| issue=  1
| pages= 51–82
| doi=  10.2307/3105760
| jstor=3105760
| s2cid= 112031120
}}</ref> discovered [[serendipity|serendipitously]] in 1856.

Its chemical name is 3-amino-2,±9-dimethyl-5-phenyl-7-(p-tolylamino)phenazinium acetate.

[[Fuchsine]] 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]] came onto the market. It had originally been discovered in 1896, but were not synthesized 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 C<sub>20</sub>H<sub>12</sub>N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. 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.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Black Butte blackberry.jpg|[[Blackberry|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]] dye
</gallery>

=== Animals ===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Cinnyricinclus_leucogaster_-_20080321.jpg|The male [[violet-backed starling]] sports a very bright, iridescent purple plumage.
File:Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis.jpg|The [[purple frog]] is a species of [[amphibian]] found in India.
File:Pseudanthias pascalus.jpg|''Pseudanthias pascalus'' or purple queenfish.
File:PurpleUrchinPuertoVG.JPG|The [[Strongylocentrotus purpuratus|purple sea urchin]] from Mexico.
File:Purple Heron in flight.jpg|A [[purple heron]] in flight (South Africa).
File:Carpodacus purpureus CT3.jpg|A [[purple finch]] (North America).
File:Lorius domicella -Jurong Bird Park -upper body-8a.jpg|The ''[[Lorius domicella]]'', or purple-naped lory, from Indonesia.
</gallery>

=== 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]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Purplec.png|The purple colors of this [[cauliflower]], 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 [[Fagus sylvatica|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.
</gallery>

=== Plants and flowers ===
*[[Stipa|Purple needlegrass]] is the [[state grass]] of California.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
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]] blossoms
File:MEDICAGO SATIVA - APIS - IB-125.JPG|''[[Medicago sativa]]'', known as [[alfalfa]] in the U.S. and lucerne in the U.K.
File:Aster alpinus 002.JPG|The ''[[Aster alpinus]]'', 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|[[Tragopogon porrifolius|salsify]]
</gallery>

=== Microbiology ===
*[[Purple bacteria]] are [[bacteria]] that are [[phototroph]]ic, that is, capable of producing energy through [[photosynthesis]].<ref name=bryantfrigaard>{{cite journal
|author=D.A. Bryant & N.-U. Frigaard
|date=November 2006
|title=Prokaryotic photosynthesis and phototrophy illuminated
|journal=Trends Microbiol.
|volume=14
|issue=11
|pages=488–96
|doi=10.1016/j.tim.2006.09.001
|pmid=16997562
}}</ref>

*In April 2007, it was suggested that early [[archaea]] may have used [[retinal]], a purple pigment, instead of [[chlorophyll]], 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/environment/070410_purple_earth.html |title=Early Earth Was Purple, Study Suggests |publisher=Livescience.com |date=2007-04-10 |access-date=2012-12-29}}</ref>

=== Astronomy ===
* One of the [[star]]s in the [[Pleiades]], called [[Pleione (star)|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.<ref>Barnett, Lincoln and the editorial staff of Life ''The World We Live In'' New York:1955--Simon and Schuster--Page 284 There is also an illustration of Purple Pleione by the noted astronomical artist [[Chesley Bonestell]].</ref>
*The [[Purple Forbidden enclosure]] is a name used in traditional [[Chinese astronomy]] for those [[Chinese constellations]] that surround the [[north celestial pole]].

=== Geography ===
*[[Purple Mountain (Nanjing)|Purple Mountain]] 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]] is located there.
*[[Purple Mountain, County Kerry|Purple Mountain]] in County Kerry, Ireland, takes its name from the color of the shivered slate on its summit.
*[[Purple Mountain (Wyoming)|Purple Mountain]] in [[Wyoming]] (el. {{convert|8392|ft|m}}) 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
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Purple Mountain View, Killarney.jpg|[[Purple Mountain, County Kerry|Purple Mountain]] near Killarney, Ireland.
File:PurpleMountainYNP2010.jpg|[[Purple Mountain (Wyoming)|Purple Mountain]] in [[Yellowstone National Park]].
File:PurpleMountain01.JPG|[[Purple Mountain (Nanjing)|Purple Mountain]], Nanjing.
</gallery>

=== 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]] 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.<ref>"[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9062822 Rayleigh scattering] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031205802/https://academic.eb.com/ |date=2022-10-31 }}." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Nov. 2007.</ref>

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 [[List of Crayola crayon colors|Crayola]] crayon called Purple Mountain Majesty in reference to the lyric was first formulated in 1993.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
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]].
File:Auke Bay Alaska 2.jpg|Sunset at [[Auke Bay]], [[Alaska]]. Thanks to [[Rayleigh scattering]], the mountains appear purple.
</gallery>

== 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]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/7744089/QI-Quite-Interesting-facts-about-the-colour-purple.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/7744089/QI-Quite-Interesting-facts-about-the-colour-purple.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=QI: Quite Interesting facts about the colour purple|last=Mitchinson|first=Compiled by Molly Oldfield and John|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2010-05-21|access-date=2018-08-14|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Grovier"/>

== Associations and symbolism ==
=== Royalty ===
In [[Europe]], since some [[Roman emperors]] wore a [[Tyrian purple]] (''purpura'') [[toga praetexta]], purple has been the color most associated with power and royalty.<ref name="StClair" /> The [[British royal family]] and other European royalty still use it as a ceremonial color on special occasions.<ref name="Eva Heller pg. 162">Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'', p. 162.</ref> In [[Japan]], purple is associated with the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] and Japanese aristocracy.<ref name="HibiFukuda2000" /><gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:NorthernIrelandStamp1958 3D.jpg|A purple postage stamp honored [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1958
File:Dronning Margrethe II (crop).jpg|Queen [[Margrethe II of Denmark]] in 2010.
</gallery>

=== Piety, faith, penitence, and theology ===
In the West, purple or violet is a color often associated with piety and religious faith.<ref name="Eva Heller pg. 162" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Carlson |first1=Kathie |title=The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images |last2=Flanagin |first2=Michael N. |last3=Martin |first3=Kathleen |last4=Martin |first4=Mary E. |last5=Mendelsohn |first5=John |last6=Rodgers |first6=Priscilla Young |last7=Ronnberg |first7=Ami |last8=Salman |first8=Sherry |last9=Wesley |first9=Deborah A. |publisher=[[Taschen]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-8365-1448-4 |editor-last=Arm |editor-first=Karen |location=Köln |page=654 |editor-last2=Ueda |editor-first2=Kako |editor-last3=Thulin |editor-first3=Anne |editor-last4=Langerak |editor-first4=Allison |editor-last5=Kiley |editor-first5=Timothy Gus |editor-last6=Wolff |editor-first6=Mary}}</ref> In AD 1464, shortly after the Muslim conquest of [[Constantinople]], which terminated the supply of [[Tyrian purple]] to [[Roman Catholic]] [[Europe]], [[Pope Paul II]] decreed that [[cardinalate|cardinals]] should henceforth wear scarlet instead of purple, the scarlet being dyed with expensive [[cochineal]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} [[Catholic bishop|Bishops]] were assigned the color [[Amaranth (color)#Amaranth purple|amaranth]], being a pale and pinkish purple made then from a less-expensive mixture of indigo and cochineal.

In the [[Latin liturgical rites]] of the [[Catholic liturgy]], purple represents [[penitence]]; [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] and [[Catholic priest]]s wear a purple [[stole (vestment)|stole]] when they hear [[Confession (religion)|confession]] and a purple stole and [[chasuble]] during [[Advent]] and [[Lent]].  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 (liturgy)|Mass]]. White is worn when a child dies before the [[Age of reason (canon law)|age of reason]]. Students and faculty of [[theology]] also wear purple academic dress for graduations and other university ceremonies.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Purple is also often worn by senior pastors of [[Protestant]] churches and bishops of the [[Anglican Communion]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Cardinals and bishops in Bruges escorted by police.jpg|In the [[Catholic Church]], cardinals now wear [[Scarlet (color)|scarlet]] and bishops wear [[amaranth (color)|amaranth]].
File:Katharine Jefferts Schori 2.jpg|[[Katharine Jefferts Schori]], Presiding Bishop of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church of the United States]]
File:Bishop Mercurius of Zaraisk.jpg|Bishop Mercurius of [[Zaraisk]] wearing an episcopal mantle ([[St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral (Manhattan)|Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral]], New York).
</gallery>
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.<ref>"Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'',  p. 167–68</ref>

=== 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.<ref>"Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'',  p. 170</ref>

=== 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.<ref>"Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur: effets et symboliques'',  p. 167–174</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-funeral-clothing.html|title=English Funeral and mourning clothing|work=ox.ac.uk}}</ref>

== In culture and society ==
=== Cultures of Asian countries ===
* The Chinese word for purple, ''zi'', is connected with the North Star, [[Polaris]], 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 often represents "the highest," holiest, and "most [[Sacredness|sacred]] values" in China.<ref name=":3" />
** In [[Taoism]], purple is a transitional color and metaphysically between [[yin and yang]].<ref name=":3" />
*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]]''), also known as ''murasaki'' in Japanese. At about the same time, Japanese painters began to use a pigment made from the same plant.<ref>Anne Varichon, ''Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples'', p.&nbsp;139</ref>
{{See also|Traditional colors of Japan#Violet series}}

*In Thailand, widows in mourning wear the color purple. Purple is also associated with Saturday on the [[Thai solar calendar]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Eastern Han Luoyang Mural of Liubo players.jpg|[[Han purple]] and [[Han blue]] 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.
</gallery>

=== Cultures of Europe ===

==== Ancient Rome ====
Purple represented the height of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] virtue and cultural values.<ref name=":3" />

==== Medieval Europe ====

* In [[medieval Europe]], purple represented [[leadership]] and the [[king]].<ref name=":3" />
** In European [[alchemy]] during this time, "the 'precious purple tincture'" was a term for various substances alchemists hoped to create.<ref name=":3" /> The term and goal of the alchemists evoked kingliness,<ref name=":3" /> since the [[divine right of kings]] was also thought to aid the alchemists' future.

=== Engineering ===
The color purple plays a significant role in the traditions of engineering schools across Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-22 |title=Traditions - Waterloo Engineering Society |url=https://www.engsoc.uwaterloo.ca/about-us/traditions/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |language=en-US}}</ref> Purple is also the color of the Engineering Corp in the British Military.<ref>{{Cite web |last=profbillanderson |date=2019-04-16 |title=Why Engineering is Purple |url=https://profbillanderson.com/2019/04/16/why-engineering-is-purple/ |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=A Professor in Waterloo Engineering |language=en}}</ref>

=== 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 in the purple|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.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/purple_patch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122034840/https://www.lexico.com/definition/purple_patch |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |title=purple patch |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> 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]]s, particularly [[LSD]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cottrell |first1=Robert C. |title=Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: The Rise of America's 1960s Counterculture |date=2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-4607-2 |page=134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGGGBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA134 |language=en |quote=a confusing drug-induced state}}</ref>
*'''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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jointness |url=http://www.carlisle.army.mil/library/bibs/joint07.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106130755/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/library/bibs/joint07.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2011 |access-date=22 May 2022 |website=www.carlisle.army.mil}}</ref>
*'''[[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 [[Awards and decorations of the United States military|military decoration]] awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed during their service.

=== Politics ===
*In United States politics, a [[Red states and blue states#Purple states|''purple state'']] (typically a ''[[swing state]]'') is a state roughly balanced between [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] (generally symbolized by red in the 21st century) and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] (symbolized by blue).
*In the [[politics of the Netherlands]], [[purple (government)|Purple]] ({{langx|nl|paars}}) means a coalition government consisting of [[liberalism|liberals]] and [[social democracy|social democrats]] (symbolized by the colors blue and red, respectively), as opposed to the more common coalitions of the [[Christian democracy in the Netherlands|Christian Democrats]] with one of the other two. Between 1994 and 2002 there were two Purple cabinets, both led by [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands|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 of Belgium|Prime Minister]] [[Guy Verhofstadt]].
*Purple is the primary color used by many European and American political parties, including [[Volt Europa]], the [[UK Independence Party]], the [[Social Democrats (Ireland)|Social Democrats]] in the [[Republic of Ireland]], the [[Liberal People's Party (Norway, 1992)|Liberal People's Party]] in Norway, and the [[United States Pirate Party]]. [[The Left (Germany)|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]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*In the United Kingdom, the color scheme for the [[suffragette]] movement in Britain and Ireland was designed with purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and green for hope.<ref name="ChertseyMuseum">{{cite web|title=Dress & the Suffragettes |url=https://chertseymuseum.org/suffragette_dress |website=[[Chertsey#Museum|Chertsey Museum]] |access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Blackman">{{cite news|last1=Blackman|first1=Cally|title=How the Suffragettes used fashion to further the cause|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/oct/08/suffragette-style-movement-embraced-fashion-branding|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=8 October 2015|access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="WSPU_Flag">{{cite web |title=WSPU Flag |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/parliamentary-collections/collections-suffragettes/flag/ |website=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] |access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref>

=== Rhyme ===
[[File:The Prince's Clothes (407816597).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Purple was a central motif in the career of the musician [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]. His 1984 film and album ''[[Purple Rain (album)|Purple Rain]]'' is one of his best-known works. The [[Purple Rain (song)|title track]] is Prince's [[signature song]] and was nearly always played in concert. Prince encouraged his fans to wear purple to his concerts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Where fans of Prince music meet and stay up-to-date|url=http://prince.org/|website=Prince.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://prince.org/wiki/Princepedia |title=Link to the main page of the Princepedia, a Wiki about Prince, on the purple Prince.org Prince fan website |access-date=2013-01-28 |archive-date=2013-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124194142/http://prince.org/wiki/Princepedia }}</ref>]]
*In the [[English language]], the word "purple" has only one perfect rhyme, ''[[wikt:curple|curple]].'' Others are [[List of English words without rhymes#Words with obscure perfect rhymes|obscure perfect rhymes]], such as ''[[wikt:hirple|hirple]].''
**[[Robert Burns]] rhymes purple with curple in his Epistle to Mrs. Scott.
*Examples of [[Rhyme#General rhymes|imperfect rhymes]] or non-word rhymes with purple:
** In the song [[Grace Kelly (song)|Grace Kelly]] by [[Mika (singer)|Mika]] the word purple is rhymed with "hurtful".
** In his hit song "[[Dang Me]]", [[Roger Miller]] sings these lines:
{{poemquote
|text="[[Rose]]s are red, [[violet (plant)|violets]] are purple
[[Sugar]] is sweet and so is [[maple syrup|maple surple]]"
}}

=== Sexuality ===
Purple is sometimes associated with the [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[Bisexuality|bisexual]], and [[transgender]] ([[LGBT]]) community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hastings |first=Christobel |date=2020-06-04 |title=How lavender became a symbol of LGBTQ resistance |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/lgbtq-lavender-symbolism-pride/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118224608/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/lgbtq-lavender-symbolism-pride/index.html |archive-date=2023-11-18 |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> It is the symbolic color worn on [[Spirit Day]], a commemoration that began in 2010 to show support for young people who are bullied because of their [[sexual orientation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/10/20/wear-purple-october-20-spirit-day-wear-purple-day/|title=Wear Purple October 20: Spirit Day, Wear Purple Day|work=longislandpress.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022234536/http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/10/20/wear-purple-october-20-spirit-day-wear-purple-day/|archive-date=2010-10-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/10/19/why-wearing-purple-will-p/10/daily-hollywood-spirit-day-talk-runaway-and-willow-smith|title=October 20th is Spirit Day in Hollywood—Neon Tommy's Daily Hollywood|website=Takepart.com|access-date=26 November 2021}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pride Flags |url=https://www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/resources/pride-flags.aspx |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Page |first=Michael |title=The History of the Bi Pride Flag |url=http://biflag.com/Activism.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204070907/http://www.biflag.com/Activism.asp |archive-date=2012-02-04 |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref> The purple hand is another symbol sometimes used by the LGBT community during parades and demonstrations.

=== Sports and games ===
*In [[Motorsport]], purple is used to indicate the fastest times of the race.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What do DRS, black and white flag, porpoising and more mean? F1 terms explained |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-terms-explained-what-box-marbles-drs-undercut-and-more-mean-5477591/5477591/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=www.autosport.com |date=22 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
*The [[National Basketball Association]]'s [[Los Angeles Lakers]], [[Phoenix Suns]] 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]].
*In the [[National Football League]], the [[Minnesota Vikings]] and [[Baltimore Ravens]] use purple as main colors.
*The [[Australian Football League]]'s [[Fremantle Football Club]] use purple as one of their primary colors.
*In [[association football]] (soccer), Italian [[Serie A]] club [[ACF Fiorentina]], [[Belgian Pro League]] club and former Europa League winner [[R.S.C. Anderlecht]], French [[Ligue 1]] club [[Toulouse FC]] and [[Ligue 2]] club [[FC Istres]], Spanish [[La Liga]] club [[Real Valladolid]], [[Austrian Football Bundesliga]] club [[FK Austria Wien]], Hungarian [[Nemzeti Bajnokság I]] club [[Újpest FC]], [[Slovenian PrvaLiga]] club [[NK Maribor]], former Romanian [[Liga I]] clubs [[FC Politehnica Timișoara]] and [[FC Argeș Pitești]], Andorran [[Primera Divisió]] club [[CE Principat]], German club [[Tennis Borussia Berlin]], Italian club [[A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913]], Swedish club [[Fässbergs IF]], Japanese club [[Kyoto Sanga]], Australian [[A-League]] Club [[Perth Glory FC|Perth Glory]] and American [[Major League Soccer]] club [[Orlando City SC|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]]'s Primera División soccer team [[Deportivo Saprissa]]'s main color is purple (actually a [[burgundy (color)|burgundy]] 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]], [[Texas Christian University]], [[Prairie View A&M University]], the [[University of Central Arkansas]], [[Northwestern University]], the [[University of Washington]], and [[East Carolina University]] 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 [[pocket billiards|pool]], purple is the color of the 4-solid and the 12-striped balls.
[[File:Cadbury World sign, Bournville.JPG|thumb|right|[[Cadbury]] logo as displayed at Cadbury World in Bournville, England]]

=== Business ===
The British chocolate company [[Cadbury]] chose purple as it was [[Queen Victoria]]'s favourite color.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chocolate wars break out over the colour purple |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/02/chocolate-wars-break-colour-purple/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/02/chocolate-wars-break-colour-purple/ |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=8 August 2019 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The company trademarked the color purple for chocolates with registrations in 1995<ref>[https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmcase/Results/1/UK0002020876A?legacySearch=False "Trade mark number UK0002020876A"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031205803/https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK0002020876A?legacySearch=False |date=2022-10-31 }}. Intellectual Property Office.</ref> and 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmcase/Results/1/UK00002376879?legacySearch=False|title=Intellectual Property Office – By number results|website=Ipo.gov.uk|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> However, the validity of these trademarks is the matter of an ongoing legal dispute following objections by [[Nestlé]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.confectionerynews.com/Manufacturers/Cadbury-suffers-blow-in-latest-Nestle-battle-over-the-color-purple|title=Cadbury left black & blue in latest Nestlé battle over the color purple|website=Confectionerynews.com|date=19 April 2016 |access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Emblem of the kingdom of León of Alfonso IX of Leon.jpg|thumb|Emblem of [[King Alfonso IX of León]] (1180-1230) displayed in the 12th century ''Tumbo A'' [[manuscript]] in the [[Santiago de Compostela Cathedral]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]].]]

=== 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]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/es!ful.html#pur |title=Legendary "Purple Banner of Castile" or "Commoner's Banner" |publisher=Crwflags.com |access-date=2012-12-29}}</ref>
* In Japan, the prefecture of [[Tokyo]]'s flag is purple, as is the flag of [[Ichikawa, Chiba|Ichikawa]] and other Japanese municipalities.
* Porpora, or [[purpure]], a shade of purple, was added late to the list of colors of European [[heraldry]]. A purple lion was the symbol of the old Spanish [[Kingdom of León]] (910–1230), and it later appeared on the flag of [[Spain]], when the [[Kingdom of Castile]] and Kingdom of León merged.
* Several cities in Europe also adopted purple on their flags, notable examples including [[Toledo, Spain]], [[Coimbra]], Portugal, and [[Jelgava]], Latvia.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Flag of Dominica.svg|[[Flag of Dominica]], 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 ''{{lang|es|la tricolor}}'', still widely used by left-wing political organizations.
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=13em}}
* [[Byzantium (color)]]
* [[Carmine (color)]]
* [[Cerise (color)]]
* [[Lavender (color)]]
* [[List of colors]]
* [[Orchid (color)]]
* [[Purple (cipher machine)]]
* [[Raspberry (color)]]
* [[Rose (color)]]
* [[Ruby (color)]]
* [[Shades of magenta]]
* [[Shades of purple]]
* [[Ultramarine]]
* [[Violet (color)]]
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further references ==
*{{cite book
|last= Ball
|first= Philip
|title= Bright Earth, Art and the Invention of Colour
|year=2001
|publisher=Hazan (French translation)
|isbn= 978-2-7541-0503-3}}
*{{cite book
|last= Heller
|first= Eva
|title= Psychologie de la couleur: Effets et symboliques
|year=2009
|publisher=Pyramyd (French translation)
|isbn= 978-2-35017-156-2}}
*{{cite book
|last= Pastoureau
|first= Michel
|title= Le petit livre des couleurs
|year=2005
|publisher=Editions du Panama
|isbn= 978-2-7578-0310-3}}
*{{cite book
|last= Gage
|first= John
|title= Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction
|url= https://archive.org/details/colourculturepra0000gage
|url-access= registration
|year=1993
|publisher=Thames and Hudson (Page numbers cited from French translation)
|isbn= 978-2-87811-295-5}}
*{{cite book
|last= Gage
|first= John
|title= La Couleur dans l'art
|year=2006
|publisher=Thames and Hudson
|isbn= 978-2-87811-325-9}}
*{{cite book
|last= Varichon
|first= Anne
|title= Couleurs: pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples
|year=2000
|publisher=Seuil
|isbn= 978-2-02084697-4}}
*{{cite book
|last= Zuffi
|first= Stefano
|title= Color in Art
|year=2012
|publisher= Abrams
|isbn= 978-1-4197-0111-5}}
*{{cite book
|last= Roelofs
|first= Isabelle
|title= La couleur expliquée aux artistes
|year=2012
|publisher= Groupe Eyrolles
|isbn= 978-2-212-13486-5}}
* "The perception of color", from Schiffman, H.R. (1990). ''Sensation and perception: An integrated approach'' (3rd edition). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

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[[Category:Secondary colors]]
[[Category:Quaternary colors]]
[[Category:Shades of violet]]
[[Category:Web colors]]
[[Category:LGBTQ symbols]]
[[Category:Purple| ]]