porpora

Forms

porpora f (plural porpore)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin purpura (“purple-fish; purple dye; purple cloth”), which is from Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra), a word of uncertain origin.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The Greek word named a sea mollusc, the red dye taken from it and the cloth dyed with it, and it is also the source of porfido.^[3]

The Latin word continues in French pourpre, Occitan polpra, Catalan porpora and Logudorese purpura, while Spanish púrpura came in by the learned route.^[3][6] Meyer-Lübke gives the Catalan form as porpra and the Old Spanish as porpola.^[6] DELI, however, calls the Italian word itself learned.^[2]

Devoto explains the Latin ⟨p⟩ for Greek ⟨ph⟩ as an old adaptation that dropped the aspiration.^[7] The Latin noun is an adaptation of the Greek one.^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Lombard Istoria of the Pseudo-Uguccione, from the first half of the 13th century.^[9] DELI's first date is before 1250, when Cielo d'Alcamo uses the plural porpore for purple cloth: como se fosse porpore, iscarlato o sciamito (as if it were purple, scarlet or samite).^[2][10]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian had many forms, among them polpora, porpara, porpore, purpora and purpura.^[9][10] The word named the mollusc, the dye, the colour, the dyed cloth, and a robe or mantle that marked high rank, especially imperial power.^[9] Dante used it for the cloth before 1321, D. Cavalca for the garment before 1342.^[2] A 14th-century Bible translation is the first to use it for the dye, and Ariosto has purpura for the colour in 1516.^[2]

Because cardinals wear it, the word came to mean the rank of cardinal, first in A. Grillo in 1608, and porporato “cardinal” followed in 1656–57.^[2] In zoology Mattioli named the mollusc genus porpora in 1544.^[11] The medical sense, a rash of red spots, entered Italian in 1828 from scientific Latin purpura, which was used from 1753, and English had purples in 1533.^[11][10]

The expression farsi di porpora, “to blush deeply”, uses the colour figuratively.^[5][12][13]

Timeline

• First half of the 13th century – The Pseudo-Uguccione's Istoria is the TLIO's first record.^[9]
• Before 1250 – Cielo d'Alcamo uses porpore for purple cloth.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses porpora for the cloth.^[2]
• Before 1342 – D. Cavalca uses it for a purple garment.^[2]
• 14th century – A Bible translation uses it for the dye.^[2]
• 1516 – Ariosto uses purpura for the colour.^[2]
• 1544 – Mattioli uses it for the mollusc genus.^[11]
• 1608 – A. Grillo uses it for the rank of cardinal.^[2]
• 1828 – The medical sense is recorded.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. Purple dye (Tyrian purple), a red-violet colouring taken from the secretion of sea snails of the genera Murex and Purpura, used in antiquity, especially by the Phoenicians.^{[4][14][12][1]}
2. Cloth dyed with this colouring: una stola di porpora.^[4][14][12]
3. A precious robe of such cloth, a mark of rank: the toga of senators and knights in ancient Rome, the mantle of the Byzantine emperors.^[4][14][12]
4. (Christianity) The red robe of a cardinal, and by extension the rank of cardinal: elevare alla porpora, to make a cardinal.^[4][14][5]
5. (zoology) A sea snail of the genus Purpura.^[4][15]
6. (pathology) purpura, red-violet spots caused by bleeding under the skin.^{[4][14][16][1]}

Noun (masculine, invariable)

1. Purple, a deep red tending to violet: un vestito di un porpora acceso.^[12][14][1]

Adjective

1. (invariable, after the noun) purple, crimson: una cravatta porpora.^[14][12][1]

Word family

• porporato
• porporina
• porporino
• imporporare
• porporaio
• porporeggiare

Related words

• porfido
• Latin purpura
• French pourpre

Usage notes

Farsi di porpora or diventare di porpora means to blush violently.^[5][12][13] As a colour word porpora is masculine and invariable, and as an adjective it is invariable and follows the noun.^[12][1] In heraldry it is the tincture purpure.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 338
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3025
12. ^ a b c d e f g h Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
16. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse