Online Etymology Dictionary. Old English purpul, dissimilation (first recorded in Northumbrian, in Lindisfarne gospel) of purpure "purple dye, a purple garment," purpuren (adj.)
"purple," a borrowing by 9c. from Latin purpura "purple color, purple-dyed cloak, purple dye," also "shellfish from which purple was made," and "splendid attire generally," from Greek porphyra "purple dye, purple" (see porphyry), of uncertain origin, perhaps Semitic, originally the name for the shellfish (murex) from which it was obtained. Purpur continued as a parallel form until 15c., and through 19c. in heraldry.
Purple. Purple was the color worn by Roman Emperors and magistrates, and later by Roman Catholic bishops.
Since that time, purple has been commonly associated with royalty and piety.[4] Etymology[edit] Violet (color) According to surveys in Europe and the United States, violet is the color most commonly associated with the extravagant, the individualist, ambiguity, the unconventional, and the artificial.[4] The color mauve is a pale violet.
This is a flower of the Malvaceae family. In the traditional color wheel used by painters, violet and purple are both placed between red and blue.