A small flowering plant with blue or purple flowers, or a small sea snail. The word is also used to name a pale bluish-purple color.
From Old English “perwince,” related to Latin “pervinca” for the plant. The color sense came later, based on the flower’s soft blue-purple petals.
Periwinkle is one of those words that sounds exactly as gentle as the color looks—soft, light, and a little whimsical. It’s a reminder that color names often come from nature long before they show up in paint charts.
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