violet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/, /ˈvaɪ.lət/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English violet, borrowed from Old French violete,^[2][3][4] a diminutive of viole (“violet”),^[2][5][6] from Latin viola (“violet; violet colour”).^[2][4][7] The Latin word was itself borrowed, probably from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language that also gave Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”),^[2][5][8] and Merriam-Webster calls it of non-Indo-European origin.^[9] The adjective is from violet, the masculine form.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The flower: the OED's first example is from Arthour and Merlin of about 1330,^[3] which Barnhart dates probably before 1300.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The plant name came first, and the colour name grew out of it,^[2][8][10] with violet-coloured cloth and vestments recorded from 1380 and the colour itself from about 1400.^[3][11] The adjective is from 1370.^[3] From 1412 Lydgate applied the flower figuratively to people, as an image of beauty and modesty.^[3][11] The scent of violets, used in cosmetics, is recorded from about 1850,^[3] and a slang sense "onion" from 1890, although Green notes that no real example has been found.^[3][12] shrinking violet, a shy person, is a later figurative use.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 1330 – the plant or flower.^[3]
• 1370 – the adjective, violet-coloured.^[3][11]
• 1380 – cloth or dress of a violet colour.^[3][11]
• c. 1400 – the colour, a pigment or dye.^[3]
• 1412 – figurative, of people.^[3]
• 1650s – violaceous, from Latin.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A low perennial plant of the genus Viola, with small purple, blue or white flowers.
2. A bluish-purple colour, at the short-wavelength end of the visible spectrum.

Adjective

1. Of a bluish-purple colour.

Word family

• ultraviolet
• crystal violet
• gentian violet
• Parma violet
• shrinking violet

Related words

• viola
• violaceous
• iodine

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
12. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins