The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ianthina \I*an"thi*na\, n.; pl. L. Ianthin[ae], E. Ianthinas. [NL., fr. L. ianthinus violet-blue, Gr. ?; ? violet + ? flower.] (Zo["o]l.) Any gastropod of the genus Ianthina, of which various species are found living in mid ocean; -- called also purple shell, and violet snail. [Written also janthina.]
Note: It floats at the surface by means of a raft, which it constructs by forming and uniting together air bubbles of hardened mucus. The Tyrian purple of the ancients was obtained in part from mollusks of this genus.
Violet \Vi"o*let\, a. [Cf. F. violet. See Violet, n.] Dark blue, inclining to red; bluish purple; having a color produced by red and blue combined.
Violet shell (Zo["o]l.), any species of Ianthina; -- called also violet snail. See Ianthina.
Violet wood, a name given to several kinds of hard purplish or reddish woods, as king wood, myall wood, and the wood of the Andira violacea, a tree of Guiana.