puce

[ pyoos ]

/ pyus /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puce ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of a dark or brownish purple.

noun

a dark or brownish purple.

Nearby words

puca, pucallpa, puccini, puccini, giacomo, puccoon, puce, pucellas, puck, puck control, puck hog, puck-carrier

Origin of puce

1780–90; < French: literally, flea < Latin pūlic-, stem of pūlex

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for puce

Puce reserve paste, contains acetate of alumina mixed with the iron liquor.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
Puce colour is communicated by logwood with a little alum; which may be modified by the addition of a little Brazil wood.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
But the case of the inhabitant of the puce dressing-gown was an exception to the rule.
Buried Alive: A Tale of These Days|Arnold Bennett
He did not use a deep purple or a puce colour in the ornaments of his dress.
A History of Chinese Literature|Herbert A. Giles

Apparently the geranium red costume is Sunday only, the week-day is this maroon, or puce, or madder-brown.
Sea and Sardinia|D. H. Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for puce

puce

/ (pjuːs) /

noun

a colour varying from deep red to dark purplish-brown
(as adjective)a puce carpet

Word Origin for puce

C18: shortened from French couleur puce flea colour, from Latin pūlex flea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012