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

puce

adjective

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of puce

Examples from the Web for puce

British Dictionary definitions for puce

puce

noun

Word Origin for puce