born in the purple
Preserved but no longer current.
Said of the child of a king or emperor (see PORPHYROGENITUS), hence of anyone of exalted birth or "born with a silver spoon in his mouth." The expression comes from a Byzantine custom which ordained that the empress should be brought to bed in a chamber the walls of which were lined with porphyry, or purple.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “born in the purple” mean?
Said of the child of a king or emperor (see PORPHYROGENITUS), hence of anyone of exalted birth or "born with a silver spoon in his mouth." The expression comes from a Byzantine custom which ordained that the empress should be brought to bed in a chamber the walls of which were lined with porphyry, or purple.
Is “born in the purple” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.