purple /pûrˈpl/

1. A mixture of blue and red
2. Crimson (historical)
3. The Tyrian crimson dye, obtained in ancient times from various shellfish (Murex, Purpura, Buccinum, etc) (historical)
4. Any shellfish from which the dye is obtained
5. A crimson cloth or garment worn in ancient times by kings and emperors (historical)
6. The rank, power or position of king or emperor
7. The red robe of a cardinal
8. The cardinalate (from the red hat and robes)
9. (with the) bishops
10. A purple pigment
11. A purple-red pigment in the rods of the mammalian eye and in parts of other eyes (visual purple)
12. A purple flower (see long-purples under long¹)
13. (in pl) purpura
14. (in pl) swine-fever
15. (in pl) ear-cockle (see under ear²)

1. Of the colour purple
2. Blood-red, bloody (historical)
3. Of writing, fine or over-ornate

To make purple

To become purple

purˈplish or purˈply adjective

Somewhat purple

purple airway noun

A reserved course for a royal flight

purˈple-born adjective

Born in the purple (qv below)

purˈple-coloured adjective

purple emperor noun

One of the largest of British butterflies and one of the most richly coloured (Apatura iris)

purple finch noun

An American finch, the male of which has a red head and breast

purple fish noun

A shellfish yielding purple dye

purple gallinule noun

A bird of the rail family (genus Porphyrio) with purplish plumage

purple heart noun

1. (the purple-coloured wood of) a species of Peltogyne of the family Caesalpiniaceae (also purple wood)
2. A mauve heart-shaped tablet of a stimulant drug of the amphetamine type
3. (with caps) a US decoration for wounds received on active service

purˈple-hued adjective

purˈple-in-grain adjective

Dyed fast in purple

purple of Cassius noun

A red or purple pigment discovered by Andreas Cassius (c.1683), made from stannous, stannic and gold chlorides in solution

purple patch noun

1. A passage of fine, or (often) over-ornate, writing (also purple passage)
2. A time of good luck or success

born in the purple

1. Born in the purple chamber of the Byzantine empresses (historical; see porphyrogenite)
2. Hence, of exalted birth

visual /vizhˈū-əl or vizˈū-əl/

1. Of or relating to sight
2. Concerned with seeing, or (figurative) with mental vision
3. Attained by, or received through, sight, now often as contrasted with a mechanical or other means of observation
4. Of the nature of, or conveying, a mental vision
5. Visible, having visibility
6. Optic, as in visual axis (see optic axis under optic)
7. Of the eye (poetic)
8. (of beams) coming from the eye (obsolete)

1. Something visible
2. A rough sketch of the layout of an advertisement or design
3. (often in pl) a drawing, piece of film, etc, as distinct from the words or sound accompanying it

visˈualist noun

1. A visualizer
2. A visile

visualˈity noun (Carlyle)

1. The quality or state of being visible to the mind
2. A mental picture

visualīzāˈtion or visualīsāˈtion noun

The act or process of visualizing, often used in distant healing

visˈualize or visˈualise transitive verb

1. To make visible, externalise to the eye
2. To call up a clear visual image of

1. To call up a clear visual image
2. To become visible (medicine)

visˈualīzer or visˈualīser noun

visˈually adverb

visual acuity noun

The spatial resolving power of the eye

visual aid noun

A picture, photograph, film, diagram, etc, used as an aid to teaching

visual arts plural noun

Painting, sculpture, films, etc as opposed to literature, music, etc

Visual Basic noun (computing)

A form of the programming language BASIC, widely used in creating graphics and software (abbrev VB)

visual display unit noun (computing)

An older name for a cathode-ray tube which displays data, entered by keyboard or light pen, from a computer's memory (abbrev VDU)

visual field see under field

visually challenged adjective

(in politically correct language) blind

visual purple see under purple

• rasters
• rastrum
• rastrums
• rasure
• rasures
• rat
• rata
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• ratability
• ratable
• ratable value
• ratably
• ratafia
• ratafias
• ratan
• ratans
• rataplan
• rataplans
• rat-arsed
• ratas
• rat-a-tat
• ratatouille
• ratatouilles
• ratbag
• ratbags