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purpleheart

purpleheart

1 8.9
A tropical tree with hard purple wood used for furniture and floors
  • noun
  • /ˈpɜrplˌhɑrt/
: madera de púrpura
  • She chose a striking purpleheart frame for her new artwork because of the rich color.

Examples

  • I love the rich color of purpleheart furniture.

  • Floors made from purpleheart are both beautiful and durable.

  • The craftsman selected purpleheart for the cabinet because of its striking color.

  • She admired the deep hue of the purpleheart table in the showroom.

  • The table is made of purpleheart wood.

  • The table was carefully crafted from purpleheart, showcasing its beautiful, dense wood grain.

  • The flooring in the dining room is made of durable purpleheart, making it both attractive and resilient.

Synonyms

East Indian rosewood
vspurpleheart
  • Indian
1 8.5

A large tree from India with dark, hard wood used for fine furniture and musical instruments

is described generally as tropical wood often used for furniture and flooring
Indian blackwood
vspurpleheart
  • Indian
9.5

A large Indian tree that people use for its very dark hard wood in furniture and musical instruments

is mainly used for furniture and flooring rather than instruments
Dalbergia latifolia
vspurpleheart
  • Specialized
9.9

A large Indian tree that loses its leaves and has hard dark purple wood used for furniture and guitars

is a tropical hardwood chosen for dense purple timber and flooring

Surface Forms

purpleheart singular
purplehearts plural

Morphology

purpleheart = purple + heart (semi-transparent) = purple + heart

Built from 'purple' + 'heart' referring to the purple-coloured heartwood; while the composition is clear, the identification of a particular tropical hardwood species is lexicalized.

Etymology

The word purpleheart for the tree and its wood comes from purple and heart because the tree's inner wood, or 'heart', is a striking purple. That's why furniture and floors made from this wood are called purpleheart and are prized for their colour and strength.