purpurous
/ˈpɜː(ɹ)pəɹəs/
"purpurous" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“purpurous” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Purple.
Corpus desk
Index EN-purpurous · purpurous · English
purpurous · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | purpurous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɜː(ɹ)pəɹəs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “purpurous” in English
Rare enough to double-check
purpurous is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpɜː(ɹ)pəɹəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for purpurous, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin purpura + -ous. The correct English form is purpurous, spelled P-U-R-P-U-R-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Purple.
- 2Of or relating to purpura: Synonym of purpuric.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how purpurous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ebrus – the most beautiful of the rivers – / which in Thrace flowest with a strong sound, / along lands famous for their horses – / thou goest down silent to the purpurous sea near Ainos […]
The cavities of the pleuræ and pericardium were filled with a reddish serous effusion; but these membranes, with the exception of numerous points of purpurous effusion beneath them, were otherwise quite healthy. The purpurous spots were seen both under the pleura pulmonalis and costalis.
Etymology
From Latin purpura + -ous.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.