Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PUR'PLE, a. [Fr. pourpré; L. purpureus; Sp. purpureo; It. porporino; Gr. πορφυρεος, from πορφυρα; L. purpura, a shell from which the color was obtained.]

1. Designating a color composed of red and blue blended, much admired, and formerly the Roman emperors wore robes of this color.
2. In poetry, red or livid; dyed with blood. I view a field of blood, / And Tyber rolling with a purple flood. – Dryden.