n.
- a small plant typically with purple, blue, or white five-petalled flowers.
[Many species in the genus Viola, family Violaceae.]
▸used in names of unrelated plants with similar flowers, e.g. African violet.
- a bluish-purple colour seen at the end of the spectrum opposite red.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. violette, dimin. of viole, from L. viola ‘violet’.