born to the purple

English

Alternative forms

• born in the purple

Etymology

Calque of Ancient Greek πορφυρογέννητος (porphurogénnētos); purple was a luxury color reserved for the Byzantine imperial family.

Adjective

born to the purple (not comparable)

1. Born and raised in a royal family.
   • 1999, Anthony Richard Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, page 57:

     No one had had any experience of an emperor like Commodus, a Caesar born to the purple.

2. (loosely) Of children, born of prominent or high-ranking parents.

Translations

born and raised in a royal family

• Hungarian: bíborban született

children born of prominent or high-ranking parents