tyrian purple
1Tyrian purple — (Greek: polytonic|πορφύρα, porphyra , Latin: purpura ), also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple red dye which was first produced by the ancient Phoenicians in the city of Tyre.Tyrian purple was expensive: the… …
2Tyrian purple — Tyrian Tyr i*an, a. [L. Tyrius, from Tyrus Tyre, Gr. ?.] 1. Of or pertaining to Tyre or its people. [1913 Webster] 2. Being of the color called Tyrian purple. [1913 Webster] The bright eyed perch with fins of Tyrian dye. Pope. [1913 Webster]… …
3Tyrian purple — or Tyrian dye n. 1. a natural purple dye originally extracted from the glands of snails (family Muricidae) by the ancient Phoenicians of Tyre: widely used in the ancient and classical world in the dyeing of cloth 2. bluish red …
4Tyrian purple — 1. noun a) A deep purple dyestuff obtained from the bodies of mollusks of the genus Murex b) A deep purple colour, tinted with red, like that of the dye. 2. adjective Of a deep purple colour, tinted with red, like that of the dye. See Also: Tyre …
5Tyrian purple — 1. Also called Tyrian dye. a highly prized crimson or purple dye of classical antiquity, originally obtained at great expense from a certain shellfish: later shown to be an indigo derivative and synthetically produced, and now replaced by other… …
6Tyrian purple — /ˌtɪriən ˈpɜpəl/ (say .tireeuhn perpuhl) noun a highly prized purple dye of classical antiquity, originally obtained at great expense from a certain shellfish. It was later shown to be an indigo derivative and synthesised, and it has been… …
7Tyrian purple — noun 1. a red purple to deep purple dye obtained from snails or made synthetically • Hypernyms: ↑dye, ↑dyestuff 2. a vivid purplish red color • Hypernyms: ↑reddish purple, ↑royal purple …
8Tyrian purple — noun Etymology: Tyre, maritime city of ancient Phoenicia Date: circa 1586 a crimson or purple dye that is related to indigo, was obtained by the ancient Greeks and Romans from gastropod mollusks, and is now made synthetically …
9Tyrian purple — noun see purple …
10Tyrian purple — Tyr′ian pur′ple n. 1) tex anq Also called Tyr′ian dye′. a highly prized purple dye of antiquity, an indigo derivative orig. obtained from a certain shellfish and later synthetically produced 2) a vivid, purplish red …
