perse

American  

[purs] / pɜrs /

adjective

1. of a very deep shade of blue or purple.

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perse ¹ British  

/ pɜːs /

noun

1. 1. a dark greyish-blue colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      perse cloth

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Perse ² British  

/ pɛrs, pɜːs /

noun

1. Saint-John (ˈsɪndʒən), real name Alexis Saint-Léger . 1887–1975, French poet, born in Guadeloupe. His works include Anabase (1922) and Chronique (1960). Nobel prize for literature 1960

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Etymology

Origin of perse

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English pers, from Medieval Latin persus, perhaps variant of perseus “kind of blue,” alteration of Latin Persicus “Persian”; peach ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

According to CBS Research Director Jay Eliasberg, the network feels that "intelligent advertisers are not interested in demographics perse but in the audience's response to their product," since most TV advertising is of mass-consumption items.

From Time Magazine Archive

The second, of deeper hue than perse, was of a rough and scorched stone, cracked lengthwise and athwart.

From Divine Comedy, Norton's Translation, Purgatory by Norton, Charles Eliot

Budge, The Book of Governors, i. cxvi., and Labourt, Le Christianisme dans l'empire perse, 303.

From The Church and the Barbarians Being an Outline of the History of the Church from A.D. 461 to A.D. 1003 by Hutton, William Holden

The water was more sombre far than perse;   And we, in company with the dusky waves,   Made entrance downward by a path uncouth.

From Divine Comedy, Longfellow's Translation, Complete by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

"So long may a droppe fall that it may perse a stone."

From Proverb Lore Many sayings, wise or otherwise, on many subjects, gleaned from many sources by Hulme, F. Edward (Frederick Edward)

Related Words

• color
• lavender
• lilac
• mauve
• periwinkle
• plum
• violet