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 violet (coloured) Synonym: (fashion color) ianthinus ==== 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. === See also === === 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.