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Definition of mauve

mauve

/moʊv/
mauve
Plural:mauves
•
Adjective:mauve
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mauve Lexical Profile

mauve Game Scores & Validity

• adjective

1

Having a pale purple or purplish-pink color.

Example

"She decorated the guest bedroom with elegant mauve curtains."

Synonyms
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• noun

1

A pale purple or purplish-pink color.

Example

"The sunset painted the evening sky in soft shades of gold and mauve."

2

A strong purple dye, historically the first synthetic aniline dye.

Example

"Perkin's discovery of mauve revolutionized the textile and fashion industries of the Victorian era."

Synonyms
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• Rhymes for mauve

• Nearby Words

mauritian
mauritius
mausoleum
mauve
mauvish
maven
maverick

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed from French 'mauve' (meaning 'mallow'), derived from Latin 'malva'. It came to describe the pale purple color of the mallow flower. The term gained widespread prominence in 1856 when English chemist William Perkin accidentally discovered the first synthetic organic dye, mauveine.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Mauve. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/mauve
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