violet English · revision 16140

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1330, Arthour and Merlin|origins=la viola}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/, /ˈvaɪ.lət/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|violet]], [[bor|fro|violete]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024) a diminutive of [[m|fro|viole|t=violet]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) from [[la|viola|t=violet; violet colour]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The Latin word was itself borrowed, probably from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language that also gave [[grc|ἴον|tr=íon|t=violet]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Ayto 2005) and Merriam-Webster calls it of non-Indo-European origin.^(MWU 2024) The adjective is from [[m|fro|violet]], the masculine form.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The flower: the OED's first example is from ''[[Arthour and Merlin]]'' of about 1330,^(OED 2026) which Barnhart dates probably before 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The plant name came first, and the colour name grew out of it,^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005)^(Weekley 1921) with violet-coloured cloth and vestments recorded from 1380 and the colour itself from about 1400.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) The adjective is from 1370.^(OED 2026) From 1412 Lydgate applied the flower figuratively to people, as an image of beauty and modesty.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) The scent of violets, used in [[cosmetic|alt=cosmetics]], is recorded from about 1850,^(OED 2026) and a slang sense "onion" from 1890, although Green notes that no real example has been found.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) ''[[shrinking violet]]'', a shy person, is a later figurative use.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1330 – the plant or flower.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1370 – the adjective, violet-coloured.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * 1380 – cloth or dress of a violet colour.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * c. 1400 – the colour, a [[pigment]] or [[dye]].^(OED 2026)

+ * 1412 – figurative, of people.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1650s – ''[[violaceous]]'', from Latin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A low [[perennial]] plant of the genus ''[[Viola]]'', with small purple, blue or white flowers.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A bluish-purple colour, at the short-[[wavelength]] end of the visible [[spectrum]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a bluish-purple colour.^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ultraviolet]]

+ * [[crystal violet]]

+ * [[gentian violet]]

+ * [[Parma violet]]

+ * [[shrinking violet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[viola]]

+ * [[violaceous]]

+ * [[iodine]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}