/məʊv/, /mɔːv/, /moʊv/
OriginBorrowed from French mauve (“mallow”), from Latin malva, which has a purple colour. Doublet of mallow. Coined in 1856 by the chemist William Henry Perkin, when he accidentally created the first aniline dye.
- countable, historical, uncountableA rich purple synthetic dye, which faded easily, briefly popular c. 1859‒1873 and now called mauveine.
- countable, uncountableA pale purple or violet colour, like the colour of the dye after it has faded.
“Never trust a woman who wears mauve, whatever her age may be, or a woman over thirty-five who is fond of pink ribbons.”
- Having a pale purple colour.
“[A]long their time-marked walls wistaria threw patches of mauve blossom.”
Formsmauves(plural) · mauver(comparative) · more mauve(comparative) · mauvest(superlative) · most mauve(superlative)