Violet Meaning
/ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA plant or flower of the genus Viola, especially the fragrant Viola odorata; (inexact) similar-looking plants and flowers.
nounA person thought to resemble V. odorata, especially in its beauty and delicacy.
Sentence Examples
This is a variety of violet.
She's no shrinking violet.
If you mix blue and red, you get violet.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She picked a beautiful purple flower called a ____ from the garden.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The field was filled with beautiful ____ flowers that added a bright splash of color to the whole green landscape today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet Inherited from Middle English violet, vyolet, vyolette, from Old French violette, from Latin viola (“violet”) + -ette. Cognate with Lithuanian violetinė (“purple, violet”) and Spanish violeta (“purple, violet”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Refreshed by their cooling bath of evening dew, the violets and other nocturnal flowers emitted a pleasant fragrance over the fields, but from the bogs and the rivulets came up now and then damp, penetrating gusts, that sent an icy chill through me."
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 160:
"Albertus Magnus, the thirteenth century philosopher and occultist, states that coriander, valerian, and violet are love producing herbs."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 68:
"‘Tom,’ he said, ‘you are looking at a crushed violet, a spent egg, a squeezed tube.’"
— 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 13:
"It may be as well to say, by way of parenthesis, that her real name was Violante,―at least, such was the name by which her mother had her christened. But her father thought it much too long, and said it was better to call her Violet."
— 1836, Marian Dora Malet Beasley, Violet Woodville, Carey, Lea & Blanchard, page 16:
"Her Pakeha name was Violet, and everybody called her that because her Maori name was too long. And my Nanny, she was just like a violet; shy and small and hiding her face in her petals if the sun blazed too strong."
— 1972, Witi Ihimaera, Pounamu, Pounamu, Heinemann, →ISBN, page 111:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She picked a beautiful purple flower called a ____ from the garden.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The field was filled with beautiful ____ flowers that added a bright splash of color to the whole green landscape today.