means A bluish-purple color at the short-wavelength end of the visible spectrum, also the name of a small, often fragrant flowering plant.

from From Old French 'violette,' a diminutive of 'viole,' which traces back to Latin 'viola' — the Roman name for the flower. The color sense grew from the plant: the bloom came first, and we borrowed its name to label the shade. Latin 'viola' is possibly a loanword related to the Greek 'ion' (the violet flower), but its deeper roots are uncertain, perhaps from a lost Mediterranean tongue that named the flower long before either Greek or Latin wrote it down.