Tyrian purple

American  

noun

1. Also called Tyrian dye.  a highly prized crimson or purple dye of classical antiquity, originally obtained at great expense from a certain shellfish: later shown to be an indigo derivative and synthetically produced, and now replaced by other synthetic dyes.

2. a vivid, purplish red.

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Tyrian purple British  

noun

1. a deep purple dye obtained from molluscs of the genus Murex and highly prized in antiquity

2. 1. a vivid purplish-red colour

   2. Sometimes shortened to: Tyrian.  ( as adjective )

      a Tyrian-purple robe

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Etymology

Origin of Tyrian purple

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tyrian purple

Ancient Tyrian purple, named for the town of Tyre in what is now southern Lebanon, was also rose, bluish red or velvety black, she writes.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 2023

For the ancient Phoenicians, from modern-day Lebanon, the trade in Tyrian purple helped build a mercantile empire that established new colonies across the Mediterranean, including at Carthage, near modern Tunis, under the mythical Queen Dido.

From Reuters ● Feb. 8, 2022

Murex mollusks are the only source of the ancient dye, documented by Pliny, known as Tyrian purple.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2021

Dyes, such as indigo and Tyrian purple, were extracted from plant and animal matter.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

The deed that was done in Glencoe is familiar to us all, by a patch of Tyrian purple in the most splendid of our histories.

From Lectures on Modern history by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron