purple
/ˈpɜː.pl̩/
"purple" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“purple” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,183 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,183
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A colour between red and blue; violet, though often closer to magenta.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | purple |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɜː.pl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #4,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “purple” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for purple is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɜː.pl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,183 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for purple, with forms such as "ppurple", "pruple", and "puprle". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "purse", "pursue", "puzzle", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English purple, purpel, from Old English purpul (“purple”, adjective), taken from Old English purpure (“purple colour”, noun), from Latin purpura (“purple dye, shellfish”), from Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra, “purple-fish”), perhaps of Semitic… The correct English form is purple, spelled P-U-R-P-L-E.
Definition
- 1A colour between red and blue; violet, though often closer to magenta.
- 2Any non-spectral colour on the line of purples on a colour chromaticity diagram or a colour wheel between violet and red.
- 3Cloth, or a garment, dyed a purple colour; especially, a purple robe, worn as an emblem of rank or authority; specifically, the purple robe or mantle worn by Ancient Roman emperors as the emblem of imperial dignity.
- 4Imperial power.
- 5Any of various species of mollusks from which Tyrian purple dye was obtained, especially the common dog whelk.
- 6The purple haze cultivar of cannabis in the kush family, either pure or mixed with others, or by extension any variety of smoked marijuana.
- 7Purpura.
- 8Earcockle, a disease of wheat.
- 9Any of the species of large butterflies, usually marked with purple or blue, of the genus Basilarchia (formerly Limenitis).
- 10A cardinalate.
- 11Ellipsis of purple drank.
- 12Synonym of snakebite and black.
Etymology
From Middle English purple, purpel, from Old English purpul (“purple”, adjective), taken from Old English purpure (“purple colour”, noun), from Latin purpura (“purple dye, shellfish”), from Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra, “purple-fish”), perhaps of Semitic origin. Doublet of purpura and purpure. The sense of "imperial power" is from the wearing of the color purple by emperors and kings.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ppurple,pruple,puprle,purlpe,purpel,purplle,purpple,purrple,uprple
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of purple - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “purple”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-U-R-P-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɜː.pl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “purse” - see the side-by-side comparison. purple vs purse
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.