Patriarch
A deep, reddish-purple used as the web colour purple
Patriarch is a strong purple shade, deeper and more red-toned than the bluer X11 purple. Its name has been used for this colour since 1925, and it matches the web standard for purple in HTML and CSS, sitting halfway between red and blue hues.
Share on WhatsAppOpen in the lab
- Patriarch is the web standard purple in HTML and CSS (#800080)
- It is deeper and redder than X11 purple
- The name 'patriarch' for this colour dates to 1925
- Its hue is halfway between red and blue
What colour is Patriarch?
Patriarch is a deep shade of purple, notable for its reddish tone. It is darker and less blue than the X11 colour called purple. On screens, patriarch appears as #800080, which is the standard web colour purple in HTML and CSS. Its position is exactly halfway between red and blue in hue, and halfway between white and black in value, giving it a balanced, strong look.
Where does Patriarch come from?
The name 'patriarch' for this colour was first recorded in English in 1925. The shade became widely known as the web colour purple when HTML and CSS standards adopted it. The choice for this specific hue was likely because it sits directly between red and blue, and its brightness is midway between white and black, making it a clear, central purple for digital use.
How Patriarch is defined
Patriarch is not a pigment or dye, but a digital colour defined by the hex code #800080. It is created on screens by mixing equal parts of red and blue light at medium intensity, with no green. This formula gives it its deep, reddish-purple appearance.
Where Patriarch is used
Patriarch is mainly seen in digital settings, as it is the standard purple for web design in HTML and CSS. It is used for text, backgrounds, and graphics on websites and digital interfaces. Its clear definition ensures consistency across different devices and browsers.
Purple around the world
What the purple and violet family means from country to country.
In Holy Week, members of religious brotherhoods walk in procession in robes and pointed hoods, many of them purple, the colour of penance. A purple band also marked the flag of the Second Republic.
Sacred and holyPolitics and protestSource: Holy Week in SpainSuffragettes campaigning for women's votes wore purple, white and green: purple for dignity, white for purity and green for hope.
Politics and protestCourageSource: SuffragetteA child born to a reigning Byzantine emperor was called porphyrogennetos, born in the purple. The birth took place in a palace room lined with purple stone.
Royalty and powerAweSource: Born in the purpleIn the elections of 2005, voters dipped a finger in purple ink to prevent double voting. The stained finger, held up for cameras, became a sign of the vote.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Election inkPurple dye from the murasaki plant was costly and hard to make. In the court rank system set up under Prince Shotoku, the highest officials wore purple caps.
Royalty and powerAweSource: Twelve Level Cap and Rank SystemThe Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon made Tyrian purple from sea snails. The dye was so costly that it became the colour of kings and Roman emperors.
Royalty and powerAweSource: Tyrian purpleShades and relatives of Patriarch
Patriarch is sometimes confused with X11 purple, which is lighter and has a bluer tone. The two are among the few web colours that differ noticeably between web and X11 standards. Patriarch is also called HTML/CSS purple, while X11 purple is sometimes called 'purple (X11 colour)'.
Colours that go with Patriarch
Harmonies are worked out from the value #800080. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Patriarch
What colour is patriarch?
Patriarch is a deep, reddish-purple shade. On screens, it appears as #800080 and is the standard purple used in web design for HTML and CSS.
Where does the name 'patriarch' come from?
The name 'patriarch' for this colour was first recorded in English in 1925. It is a traditional name for this particular shade of purple.
How is patriarch different from X11 purple?
Patriarch is darker and has a more reddish hue than X11 purple, which is lighter and bluer. Patriarch is used as the web standard purple, while X11 purple is a separate digital standard.
How is the colour patriarch made?
Patriarch is a digital colour, not a physical pigment. It is created on screens by mixing equal parts of red and blue light at medium intensity, with no green.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Shades of purple" (the section "Purple (HTML/CSS color) (patriarch)"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
More of the purple and violet family
All of purple and violet
#8000FF
Violet
A bluish-purple seen in both flowers and the light spectrumBasic colour
#800080
Purple
A cool colour between red and blue, long linked with royalty and rarityBasic colour · 🇱🇧 Lebanon +5
#C8A2C8
Lilac
A soft purple inspired by the typical colour of lilac flowersNamed shade
#E0B0FF
Mauve
A pale purple named after the mallow flower and once a fashion sensationNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France
#9966CC
Lavender
A pale purple named for the lavender flower, with many subtle variationsNamed shade
#CC8899
Puce
A brownish-purple shade named after the flea and once favoured in French fashionNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +1
Purple and violet
Cobalt(II) phosphate
A violet pigment and chemical compound used as cobalt violet in artPigment
#614051
Eggplant
A deep purplish colour named after the skin of European eggplantsNamed shade