violaceus

Latin

Etymology

From viola (“violet flower”) +‎ -āceus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [wi.ɔˈɫaː.ke.ʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [vi.oˈlaː.t͡ʃe.us]

Adjective

violāceus (feminine violācea, neuter violāceum); first/second-declension adjective

1. violet (coloured)

   Synonym: (fashion color) ianthinus

   • c. 110 BCE – c. 25 BCE, Cornelius Nepos, Fragments 27.2:

     Mē . . . iuuene uiolācea purpura uigēbat, cuius lībra dēnāriīs centum uenībat, nec multō post rubra Tarentīna. huic successit dibapha Tyria, quae in lībrās dēnāriīs mīlle nōn poterat emī. hāc P. Lentulus Spinthēr aedīlis curūlis prīmus in praetextā ūsus inprobābātur. quā purpurā quis nōn iam . . . trīclīniāria facit?

     In my day, violet-colored (i.e., dark) purple was in esteem, and you could buy it for a hundred denarii a pound, and shortly after that, the red Tarentine purple. Then appeared double-dyed Tyrian, which you by the pound couldn't buy with a thousand denarii. Publius Lentulus Spinther, when he was aedile of the curule seat, used this purple in his praetexta toga, first one to do that, and he was criticized for it. This purple, who doesn't now make already dining room cushions with it?

Usage notes

• The Romans allied the color of Viola odorata violets to the notion of "black", as they also did with deep blue colors. Vergil: quid tum, sī fuscus Amyntās? / et nigrae uiolae sunt et uaccīnia nigra ("What then, if Amyntas is swarthy? violets are black too, and irises are black").
• The Roman name of violets extended to the wallflowers, which were of a totally different color.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	violāceus	violācea	violāceum		violāceī	violāceae	violācea
genitive	violāceī	violāceae	violāceī		violāceōrum	violāceārum	violāceōrum
dative	violāceō	violāceae	violāceō		violāceīs
accusative	violāceum	violāceam	violāceum		violāceōs	violāceās	violācea
ablative	violāceō	violāceā	violāceō		violāceīs
vocative	violācee	violācea	violāceum		violāceī	violāceae	violācea

See also

Colors in Latin · colōrēs (layout · text)

albus, candidus, cānus, marmoreus (poetic), eburneus (poetic), niveus (poetic), argenteus (poetic), lacteus (poetic)	rāvus, pullus, mūrīnus (of livestock)	niger, āter, furvus, fuscus ("swarthy"), piceus (poetic)
ruber, russus, rūbidus (dark), flammeus (poetic); rutilus, pūniceus, spādīx (poetic), sanguineus (poetic)	rūfus, rutilus, rōbus (of oxen), croceus (poetic), aureus (poetic); fulvus (poetic), niger (of eyes), badius (of horses)	lūteus, flāvus ("blond"), lūridus, gilvus (of horses), helvus (of cattle); cēreus (poetic)
viridis, flāvus (poetic)	viridis, herbeus (of eyes), fulvus (poetic)	viridis, glaucus (poetic), caeruleus (poetic, only dark)
	glaucus (poetic), caeruleus, caesius (of eyes)	caeruleus, līvidus, ferrūgineus (poetic), glaucus (poetic)
violāceus	purpureus (underlying shade)	roseus

References

• “violaceus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “violaceus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.