Tyrian purple
–noun
| 1. | Also called Tyrian dye. a highly prized crimson or purple dye of classical antiquity, originally obtained at great expense from a certain shellfish: later shown to be an indigo derivative and synthetically produced, and now replaced by other synthetic dyes. |
| 2. | a vivid, purplish red. |
[Origin: 1575–85
]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Tyrian purple
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| Tyr·i·an purple
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n. A reddish dyestuff obtained from the bodies of certain mollusks of the genus Murex and highly prized in ancient times. [After Tyre.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| tyrian purple | |
noun | |
| 1. | a red-purple to deep purple dye obtained from snails or made synthetically |
| 2. | a vivid purplish-red color |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
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