puce

[ pyoos ]
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adjective
  1. of a dark or brownish purple.

noun
  1. a dark or brownish purple.

Origin of puce

1
1780–90; <French: literally, flea <Latin pūlic-, stem of pūlex

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for puce

puce

/ (pjuːs) /


noun
    • a colour varying from deep red to dark purplish-brown

    • (as adjective): a puce carpet

Origin of puce

1
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