English
puce
Puce comes from Latin pūlex ‘flea’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *plews-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plews-‘flea’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūlex‘flea’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentflea-colored
- Englishearliest quotation 1881puce
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plews-‘flea’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūlex‘flea’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentflea-colored
- Englishearliest quotation 1881puce
Earliest quotation: 1881, Alvin Wood Chase, Dr. Chase's Recipes Or: “For blacks, browns, puces, and violets, the acetate or…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *plews- ‘flea’
through Latin pūlex ‘flea’
Today it means
noun A brownish-purple color, sometimes more or less deep red or grayish.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plews- / puce