- [countable, uncountable]
a garden plant with pale purple flowers with a sweet smell 天芥菜（开芳香淡紫色花） - [uncountable]
a pale purple colour 淡紫色
Word OriginOld English eliotropus (originally applied to various plants whose flowers turn towards the sun), via Latin from Greek hēliotropion ‘plant turning its flowers to the sun’, from hēlios ‘sun’ + trepein ‘to turn’. The spelling was influenced by French héliotrope.