purplish blue
1
2.8
- noun
:
azul purpúreo
- His face is a death mask: eyes half-open and dull, lips a purplish blue, bloodless skin crystallizing as it ices over.
- deep purplish blue
Examples
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Sapphire averages a deep purplish blue that captivates many gemstone enthusiasts.
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Sapphire averages a deep purplish blue.
Fiction book (1996) -
They flew onward, Golanth's wings tirelessly carrying them, until the great Southern barrier range developed from a pale lavender smudge to a vast purplish blue.
Fiction book (1991) -
The desert night sky is dreamy this time of year—a deep purplish blue and stars that look like Christmas lights.
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The sky was purplish blue overhead and lightened over the lake to where it was red-orange.
Synonyms
8
1.0
A deep blue color that has a slight purple hint like a clear autumn sky
4
3.1
A deep blue color with a purple tint
3
3.4
A light blue color with a faint purple hint
1
2.1
Deep blue with a little purple like a clear autumn sky
1
3.3
A blue color with a little purple in it
1
3.0
A blue color with a little purple in it
1
3.9
A blue color with a purple tint
1
4.0
Having a deep purplish-blue color between blue and purple
A purple color with a little blue mixed in
Purple with a touch of blue
A color between blue and violet
A violet color with a little blue
A pale purple color with a little blue in it
A light purple color with a touch of blue
A blue color with a little purple in it
How Purple
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'purplish' (somewhat purple) modifies 'blue' to indicate a blue shade with a tinge of purple. This adjective-modifier pattern and the suffix '-ish' are regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Purplish blue comes from mixing purple and blue. Imagine blue paint with a little purple added or the evening sky where blue and purple meet, so the phrase means 'a shade of blue that has a tinge of purple'.