Reference > Brewer’s Dictionary > Melibœ’an Dye.

 Melibe’us or Melibe.Melicer’tes (4 syl.). 
CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
 
Melibœ’an Dye.
 
A rich purple. Melibœa, in Thessaly, was famous for the ostrum, a fish used in dyeing purple.   1
       
“A military vest of purple flowed,
Lovelier than Melibœan.”
       
Milton: Paradise Lost, xi. 242.
 


 Melibe’us or Melibe.Melicer’tes (4 syl.). 

 
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