Borrowed from French mauve (“mallow”), from Latin malva, which has a purple colour. Doublet of mallow. Coined in 1856 by the chemist William Henry Perkin, when he accidentally created the first aniline dye.
Meanings
Having a pale purple colour.
[A]long their time-marked walls wistaria threw patches of mauve blossom. 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 222:
Borrowed from French mauve (“mallow”), from Latin malva, which has a purple colour. Doublet of mallow. Coined in 1856 by the chemist William Henry Perkin, when he accidentally created the first aniline dye.
Meanings
(countable, historical, uncountable) A rich purple synthetic dye, which faded easily, briefly popular c. 1859‒1873 and now called mauveine.
(countable, uncountable) A pale purple or violet colour, like the colour of the dye after it has faded.
Never trust a woman who wears mauve, whatever her age may be, or a woman over thirty-five who is fond of pink ribbons. 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter VIII, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 151: