The story
- Ancient Greek · calque ofπορφυρογέννητος
- English todayborn to the purple
Calque of Ancient Greek πορφυρογέννητος (porphurogénnētos); purple was a luxury color reserved for the Byzantine imperial family. In other kingdoms as well, purple has been traditionally associated with royalty; in some times and places this was because vibrant purple dyes were expensive.
Words from the same roots
Ancient Greekπορφυρογέννητος all →
porphyrogenite
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.