mauve

Meanings

Noun

• A bright purple synthetic dye.
• The colour of this dye; a pale purple or violet colour.

Adjective

• Having a pale purple colour.

Origin

• Borrowed from French mauve, from Latin malva ("mallow"), which has a purple colour. mallow. First coined in 1856 by the chemist William Henry Perkin, when he accidentally created the first aniline dye.