puce
- of a dark or brownish purple.
- a dark or brownish purple.
Origin of puce
Related Words for puce
rose, flaming, maroon, glowing, cardinal, crimson, coral, wine, fawn, ginger, tan, toast, amber, brick, nut, buff, coffee, drab, dust, bronzeExamples from the Web for puce
Historical Examples of puce
It serves for reds and pinks, and enters into the composition of puce and lilac.
He did not use a deep purple or a puce colour in the ornaments of his dress.
A History of Chinese LiteratureHerbert A. Giles
They describe my heliotrope poplin as puce alpaca with a muslin frill!
Mr. Punch in Wig and GownVarious
To make plum-color or puce, indigo is the dye, with a cochineal.
But the case of the inhabitant of the puce dressing-gown was an exception to the rule.
Buried Alive: A Tale of These DaysArnold Bennett
puce
- a colour varying from deep red to dark purplish-brown
- (as adjective)a puce carpet
Word Origin for puce
Word Origin and History for puce
"brownish-purple," 1787, from French puce "flea-color; flea," from Latin pucilem (nominative pulex) "flea," from PIE *plou- "flea" (cf. Sanskrit plusih, Greek psylla, Old Church Slavonic blucha, Lithuanian blusa, Armenian lu "flea"). That it could be generally recognized as a color seems a testimony to our ancestors' intimacy with vermin.