Mauve is a pale purple — not a deep royal purple, and not quite pink. It sits in that soft space between lilac and pink, a little dusty, a little grey. We use it for the colour itself and for things of that colour: a mauve dress, mauve flowers.

Mauvemauve(淡紫色) is a pale purple是一種淺淺的紫色 — not a deep royal purple, and not quite pink——不是很深的皇室紫，也不完全是粉紅色。 It sits in that soft space between lilac and pink它介在紫丁香色和粉紅色之間那種柔和的空間裡, a little dusty, a little grey，帶一點灰撲撲的感覺，一點點灰。 We use it for the colour itself and for things of that colour我們會用它來指顏色本身，也用來指那個顏色的東西: a mauve dress, mauve flowers：a mauve dress(一件淡紫色洋裝)、mauve flowers(淡紫色的花)。

The English word was borrowed from French mauve, which is also the name of the mallow flower; those flowers can wear just this kind of purple, and mallow is in fact the same old word in another shape.

The English word was borrowed from French mauve這個英文字是從法文的mauve借來的, which is also the name of the mallow flower，那也是mallow(錦葵花)的名字; those flowers can wear just this kind of purple；那些花剛好就會開出這種紫色, and mallow is in fact the same old word in another shape，而mallow其實就是同一個古字的另一種樣子。

Though actually, the colour name took off in a very modern way: in 1856 a young chemist, William Henry Perkin, was trying to make a medicine and accidentally made a purple dye from coal tar — the first of the aniline dyes. He called that dye mauve, and suddenly the colour was in fashion in a way a flower name had never been. So when you see mauve on a paint chart, you are looking at a word that is part flower, part factory.

Though actually, the colour name took off in a very modern way不過其實，這個顏色名字是用很現代的方式紅起來的: in 1856 a young chemist, William Henry Perkin：1856年，一位年輕的化學家William Henry Perkin, was trying to make a medicine，原本想做一種藥 and accidentally made a purple dye from coal tar卻意外從煤焦油裡做出了一種紫色染料 — the first of the aniline dyes——那是第一種苯胺染料。 He called that dye mauve他把那種染料叫做mauve, and suddenly the colour was in fashion，結果這個顏色一下子就流行起來 in a way a flower name had never been流行的程度是一個花名從來沒有過的。 So when you see mauve on a paint chart所以當你在色卡上看到mauve, you are looking at a word that is part flower, part factory，你看到的其實是一個一半來自花、一半來自工廠的字。