adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A brownish-purple color, sometimes more or less deep red or grayish. countable, uncountable

   "For blacks, browns, puces, and violets, the acetate or tartrate of iron must be employed."

2. 2
   a color varying from dark purplish brown to dark red wordnet

Adjective

1. 1
   Of a brownish-purple color, sometimes more or less deep red or grayish.

Synonyms

All synonyms

brickycardinalcarminecarnationcarneliancerise

Example

More examples

"I like the puce gloves she is wearing."

Etymology

From French couleur puce, from Latin pūlex (“flea”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.