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Glite Dictionary
purple-black

purple-black

1 3.3
Very dark black with a slight purple tint
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɜrpl blæk/
translation icon : púrpura-negro
  • Palest yellow, purple-black, thinned red.
  • purple-black bruise
  • purple-black fruit
  • purple-black skin

Examples

  • The first one was purple-black and about thirty feet high at its tallest point, a rim surrounding its collapsed, dimpled top.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I noticed the purple-black feathers of the rooster shimmering in the sunlight.

  • "Aaggh, what's the use?" he growls at me, at himself, at the purple-black night.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The delicate skin, the long, almost birdlike bone structure was covered in deep purple-black bruises.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • They walk out to the truck: purple-black, freckled with white mud, punched in numerous places.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The sky transitioned to a stunning purple-black at sunset, blending dark hues with hints of violet.

  • The artist chose a deep purple-black for the background of her painting, giving it a moody depth.

Synonyms

purplish-black
vspurple-black
3.4

A very dark color that looks slightly purple

is black with a purple tinge stated more precisely
violet-black
vspurple-black
6.1

A black color with a faint purple tint

is black with a purple tinge expressed in more general terms

How Purple

magenta
3.7
violet
2 1.6
purple
229 1.0
purple-black
1 3.3
black
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

purple-black positive

Morphology

purple-black = purple + black (transparent) = purple + black

The meaning is a straightforward combination of two colour adjectives (black with a purple tinge), which is directly inferable from the components.

Etymology

Purple-black is made of purple and black; purple was the name for a rich sea dye once called 'Tyrian purple' and used by kings, and black has long meant 'dark'. So purple-black describes a very dark color with a touch of purple.