purlong 
purlongt, '. A Middle English form of purloin. 
purlyt, it. An obsolete form of purlieu, 1 . 
purpartt (per'piirt), w. Same as purparty. 
purpartyt (per'par-ti). H.; pi. purpartien (-tiz). 
[Also iwurpurty; < ME. purpurtie, < AP. purpar- 
tie, OF. porpurtie (cf. ML. propars, perparn), 
share of an estate, < por, pur (< L. pro), for, 
+ partie, part: see party!.] i n ^^ an allot- 
ment ; the share or portion of an estate allotted 
to a coparcener by partition. 
Through which the grounde by purpartia 
Departed is in thre parties. 
That is Asie, Affrike, Europe. 
(rowrr, Conf. Aniaiit., vii. 
purpeyst, A Middle English form of porpoise. 
purple (per'pl), n. and a. [< ME. purpiil, ear- 
lier purpre, pourpre, also purpiir, purpure, pur- 
pour (cf. AS. purpure, a purple garment, jtttr- 
pureii, purple), < OF. porpre, pourpre, pouple, 
pople, AF. also purpille, F. pourpre = Pr. 
porpra, polpru = Sp. purpura = Pg. purpura 
= It. porpora = D. piirper = MLG. purpcr, 
purpur = OHG. purpitrn, MHO. purpcr, G. 
purpur = Icel. purpuri = Sw. Dan. purpur = 
Goth, puurpaura, pau,rpura, purple, < L. pur- 
pura, the purple-fish, purple dye, < Gr. nop- 
Qi'pa, the purple-fish ; cf. tropfiipeof (later also 
poet. n6p<j>vpof), purplo, orig. applied to the 
surging sea, dark, prob. rcdupl. of Qvptiv, mix 
up, mingle, confound, = L. j'urerc, rage : see 
fury. Cf. porpli tjry, from the same Gr. source.] 
I. . 1. A color formed by the mixture of blue 
and red, including the violet of the spectrum 
above wave-length 0.417 micron, which is near- 
ly a violet-blue, and extending to but not in- 
cluding crimson. The following color-disk formula; 
will serve to identify several purples. The red used is 
the most Intense procurable, so that mixed with 7 per 
ceut. of blue it gives a good carmine. 
Red. 
Auricula purple 17 
Dahlia purple 14 
Heliotrope purple 26 
Indian purple 29 
Magenta 67 
Mauve 37 
Plum purple S 
Pomegranate purple .... SO 
Royal purple 56 
Solferino 83 
Wine purple M 
Blue Black White. 
28 55 
7 79 
26 25 25 
31 40 
83 
50 13 
25 70 U 
10 40 II 
12 33 
17 
17 33 
Of the various colors called purple at any time, the 
Tyrian dye (which was properly a crimson) was anciently 
the most celebrated. This color was produced from an 
animal juice found in a shell-fish called murex or conchy- 
limn by the ancients. See Purpura, 2. 
Musidorus . . . had upon him a long cloak . . . made 
of purple satin; not that purple which we now have and 
is but a counterfeit of the Oetulian purple, which yet was 
far the meaner in price and estimation, hut of the right 
Tyrian purple, which was nearest to a colour betw ixt our 
murrey [a dark-reddish brown) and scarlet. 
Sir P. Suliunj, Arcadia, v. 
<lreat part of the colouring yet remains upon the stones : 
red, in all its shades, especially that dark dusky colour 
called Tyrian purple. Bruce, Source of the Nile, I. 105. 
Purple- is very seldom used in English heraldry. It is 
nonsense, however, to say it is improper to use it, as it is 
quit* good heraldry. 
Uooke of Precedence (E. E. T. .S., extra ser.), i. 90, note 1. 
2. A cloth robe, dress, or mantle of this hue, 
formerly the distinguishing dress of emperors, 
kings, or princes: as, to wear the purple. 
"Hi ham clotheth," he sayth, "mid pourpre and mid 
uayre robes." Ayenbite of Iiueyt (E. E. T. S.). p. 229. 
The 3 thousand is clothed in Clothes of Silk, of Purpre, 
or of i'ude. Maiuierille, Travels, p. 233. 
How uneasy must the leather and frieze sit upon the 
shoulder that used to shine with the purjile and the er- 
inii ' South, Sermons, III. viii. 
This spectacle of the discrowned queen with her purple 
In tile dust, and her sceptre fallen from her hand, was one 
that nearly broke his heart to see. Cornhill May. 
Hence 3. Imperial or regal power; the office 
or dignity of an emperor or king. 
And hurld him from the Scepter to the Spade ; 
Turn'd him out of his purple, here to sweat 
And hardly earne his meat before he eat. 
Ueytrooit. Dialogues (Works, ed. Pearson, 1874, VI. 161). 
That which raised him [Vespasian] to the purple, that 
which suggested him to men s minds, was his military 
eminence. He (Juincen, Essenes, li. 
4. A cardinalate: so called in allusion to the 
red or scarlet hat and robes worn officially by 
cardinals. 
The cardinal ... is old and infirm, and could never be 
induced to resign his purple. 
Addwiii, Remarks on Italy (ed. Bonn), I. 500. 
Cardinal de Teticin . . . had been recommended to the 
purple by the Chevalier de St. George. 
Smollett, Hist. Eng., ii. 8. 
5t. A gastropod yielding a purple fluid for dye- 
ing, :is a murex. llullitiiil, tr. of Pliny. 6. 
A shell of the genus Purpura. 7. A purple 
4857 
fluid secreted by certain shell-fish, more fully 
called purple of Mollusca. 8. pi. See purples. 
Alizarin purple, a shade of purple or lilac obtained 
by treating fabrics with alizarin and sulphate of iron. 
Aniline purple. Same as induce. Ethyl purple, a 
coal-tar color used in dyeing, being the hexa-ethyl-para- 
rosanlline producing the bluest shade of violet Field's 
purple. Same as madder purple. French purple, a 
color obtained from archil, Raccella tiiicturia, and used for 
dyeing purples and mauves on kilk and wool Indian 
purple, an artists' pigment prepared by precipitating 
cochineal-extract with copper sulphate. It is a deep- 
toned purple which is apt to blacken on exposure to light, 
and is now little used London purple, a residue from 
the manufacture of aniline dyes, which consists of cal- 
cium arsenite with some coloring matter. It is largely 
used as an insecticide. 
The supply of powder can be regulated to such a nicety 
that Mr. Leggett claims he can make half a pound of Lon- 
don purjtle cover an acre. >ViVmv, XIII, 394. 
Madder purple, a very deep rich lake, of great body and 
intensity, prepared from madder. The color, though not 
brilliant, is transparent and durable. Also called purple 
rubiate and A'iV(./'< purple. Mineral purple. Same as 
Mum riolet (which see, under violet). Also called pur- 
ple, oclier. Orchil purple, a dye-color obtained from 
several varieties of seaweed. It is very beautiful, but 
not durable, and is little used since the introduction of 
tar-colors. Perkins's purple. Same as maute. Pur- 
ple Of Amorgos, a celebrated dye obtained from the 
(irecian Island Amorgos, believed to have been a kind of 
orchil. Purple of Cassius [named from the Danish phy- 
sician Andreas Caxtius, died 1078). a compound olid pre- 
cipitated when solutions of the chlorids of gold and tin 
are mixed. It Is a rich and powerful color, not bright but 
very durable, and varies in hue from deep crimson to a 
murrey or dark purple. I'sed mostly in miniature-paint- 
ing. Purple Of Mollusca, a viscid lj(|iior seiTettd l>y 
certain gastropods of the families Muricidir and Purpu- 
riil/r, as Purjmra lapillu*, which dyes wool, etc., of a pur- 
pit? color. Regina purple, a coal-tar color used in dye- 
ing, being the liydrochlorid of diphenyl rosaniline, pro- 
ducing a dull violet shade. Tyrian purple. See del. 1. 
II. . 1. Of a hue or color composed of red 
and blue bk-uded. 
Feed liirn with npricocks and dewberries, 
\\ ith inirule grapes, green tigs, and mulberries. 
Shalt., M. X. D., ill. 1. 170. 
A purple lion was borne by the De Lacy family. Earla of 
Lincoln, and i (accordingly) the amis of Lincoln's Inn. 
Booke of I'reeedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), i. 9t), note 1. 
Here conies a middle- uged gentleman who looks almost 
like a coachman in his coat ith many capes and his pur- 
ple cheeks. M'. Detant, rifty \ears Ago, p. 10. 
2. Imperial; regal; of the conventional color 
of imperial robes. Purple avens. See aten*. 
Purple azalea or honeysuckle. Same as pinkster- 
flower. Purple beech, a variety of the European beech, 
f'a</* gijlmtifn, with deep reddish-brown or purplish 
leaves ; copper beech. - Purple birch. See birch, 1. Pur- 
ple brown. See brmm. Purple bullfinch. Same as 
purple finch. Purple Clover, the red or meadow clover, 
TrifMuin praieme. Purple cone-flower. See cone- 
flower. Purple copper. Same as bornite. Purple 
crow, emperor, fever, flnch, fringe-tree, see Ihe 
nouns. Purple gland, the purpnriparousadrcctal gland 
of some gastropods. Purple grackle. See yrackle, 2. 
Purple haw. same as llueicwd. Purple heron, a 
European heron, Ardea purpurea, resembling the com- 
mon lit inn, but darker in coloration, and in some places 
purplish. Purple Jacobsea, lake, laver. See the 
nouns. Purple lily. () Same as martagon. (b) See 
Paterwmin. Purple loosestrife, madder, maroon, 
medic, etc. Sec the nouns Purple martin, a large 
blue-black swallow of the I'nlted States, Progne nibuar P. 
purpurea. without a trace of purple : the name originated 
in a wrongly colored figure given by Catesby. See cut 
under Prnyiie. - Purple melic-grass, purple moor- 
grass. See Moliiiia. Purple OCher. Same as Man 
riolet (which see, under violet). Purple ragwort. See 
rayirurt. Purple rubiate. Same as madder purple. 
See I. 
purple (per'pl), i'.; pret. and pp. purpled, ppr. 
piirpliiii/. [< purple, a.] I. trans. To tinge or 
stain with purple ; impart a purplish hue to. 
Like a jolly troop of huntsmen come 
our lusty English, all with purpled hands, 
Dyed in the dying slaughter of their foes. 
Shalt., K. John, il. 1. 822. 
Aurora had but newly chas'd the night, 
And purpled o'er the sky with blushing light. 
Dryden, PaL and Arc., 1. Ib7. 
II. intrants. To become purple; assume a 
purplish hue. 
From the purpKny east departs 
The star that led the dawn. 
Wordiieorth, Ode Composed on May Morning. 
Rapidly the glow crimsoned shadows purpled; and 
night spread swiftly from the cast black-violet and full 
of stars. A,- llenrn, Youma, xii. 
purple-egg (per'pl-eg), H. A common sea-ur- 
chin, Stroiiyulocentrotiig tlrolim-hit axis: so called 
from the shape and tint of the test. 
purple-fish (per'pl-fish), n. A shell-fish of the 
genus I'urpura or some allied genus. 
purple-grasst (per'pl-gras), n. A cultivated 
variety of the common red clover, Trifolium 
pratense, with dark-brown or purplish foliage. 
Also purpletcort. Britten and Holland. Eng. 
Plant Names. 
purple-heart (per'pl-hart), H. The heart-wood 
of Cojitiiferu Alartii, var. puhirtoni. and of ('. 
purpose 
bracteata of Guiana, or the trees themselves. 
Also called purple-vcood. 
purplelip (per'pl-lip), w. A West Indian climb- 
ing orchid, Vanilla clariculata. 
purple-marbled (per'pl-mHr'bled), . A Brit- 
ish moth, Mn i-ii ostriiia. 
purples (per'plz), M. pi. [< MK. purpylx; pL 
of purple.] 1. In med., petechue, or spots of 
livid red on the body, such as appear in certain 
diseases; purpura. ' 
All the myracles to shewe It were to longe ; 
There Is many mo full great that I do not reherse, 
As pestylence, purpylg, and agonys strong. 
Jooeph of Arimathie (E. E. T. 8.\ p. 48. 
There Is a fresh Report blown over that Lulnes is lately 
dead In the Army of the Plague, some say of the Purplet, 
the next Cousin-german to It. Ilouell, Letters, I. iii. 5. 
2. A disease of wheat caused by a ueinatoid 
worm of the family Anguillulidte, Tylvlenchux 
tteantleiis or T. tritici. Also called ear-cockle, 
t'urtis, Farm Insects, p. 297. 3. An early pur- 
ple-flowered orchid, (trchis maxculu, common in 
Europe and part of Asia. 
With fantastic garlands did she come 
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purple*, 
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name. 
Shak., Hamlet, Iv. 7. 170. 
purple-wood (per'pl-wud), H. Same a.s purple- 
heart. 
purplewort (pcr'pl-wert), ii. Same ns purpli- 
f/raxx. 
purple-wreath (per'pl-reth), . bee Pctrea. 
purpointt (per' point), H. See pourpoint. 
purport (per'port or per-porr), r. t. [< ME. 
'purporte.il, proporten, OF. pourporter, purpor- 
ter, porporter, propurter, intend, < pour- (< L. 
pro), forth, + porter, bear, carry: see port 3 , 
and cf. import.] To convey to the mind as the 
meaning or thing intended; imply; mean, or 
seem to mean: as, the document purported to 
be official. 
Sable, goulis, asur, vert: perpure 
The[r|-wilh wnproper, as propurtit the text. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), I. 90. 
In this Treatie there was an exprcsse article against 
the reception of the rebels of either prince by other; pur- 
porting that, if any such rebell should bee required by the 
prince whose rebell hee was of the prince confederate, 
that forthwith the prince confederate should by procla- 
mation command him to anoid the countrie. 
Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII., p. 1BL'. 
I do not believe there ever was nut upon record more 
depravation of Man. and more despicable frivolity of 
thought and aim in Woman, than in the novels wliich 
purport to give the picture of English fashionable life. 
.Vary. Fuller, Woman in 19th Cent., p. 139. 
Christianity purport* to be not a system of moral teach- 
ing only, hut, in vital union therewith, a system of reveal- 
ed facts concerning the nature of God, and his dispensa- 
tions towards mankind. Gladebine, Might of Right, p. 77. 
purport (ptr'port, formerly also pr-port'), n. 
[< OF. pourport. purport, porport, intent, pur- 
port, < pourparler, purporter, intend : see pur- 
port, r.j 1. Meaning; tenor; import; nature: 
as, the purport of a letter. 
Thus there he stood, whylest high over his head 
There written was the purport of his sin, 
In cyphers strange, that few could rightly read. 
Speiuer, F. Q., V. Ix. 26. 
With a look so piteous In purport 
As if he had been loosed out of hell 
To speak of horrors. Shak. , Hamlet, II. 1. 82. 
Mr. Pyncheon heard a halt-uttered exclamation from 
his daughter, . . . very faint and low : so Indistinct that 
there seemed but half a will to shape out the words, and 
too undefined a purport to be Intelligible. 
Hawthorne, Seveu Gables, xlll. 
2f. Pretext; disguise; covering. 
For shee her sexe under that strange purport 
Did use to hide. Speiuer, F. <J., III. I. 62. 
= Syn. 1. Gist, drift, sense, signification, 
purportless (per'port-les), a. [< purport + 
-less.] Without purport, meaning, or design. 
Sou tnry. 
pnrpost, ii. A Middle English form of purpose. 
purpose (per'pos). c.; pret. and pp. purposed, 
ppr. purposing" [< ME. purposen, < OF. pur- 
poser, var. of proposer, propose : see propose, of 
which purpose is a doublet. The verb should 
prop, be accented on the last syllable (as in 
propose, compoxe. etc.), but it has conformed 
to the noun, which is wholly from the L. (see 
l>iu-)>i>sc, n.), whereas the verb (OF. puriioxi-r) is 
partly of different origin (see pose 2 ).] I. trans. 
1 . To propose ; intend ; design ; mean : gener- 
ally with an infinitive. 
And alle the dlsclplis purpoeiden after that ech hadde 
for to sende in to mynysterie to britheren that dwelliden 
In Indee. Wyctif, Acts xL 29. 
I have possess'd your grace of what I purpote. 
Shak., M. of V., Iv. I. 85. 
He sar'd my life, though he purpru'd to destroy me. 
Fletcher. Wife for a Month, v. 3. 
