Mallow (/ˈmoʊv/, mohv; /ˈmɔːv/, mawv) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: lilac). The first use of the word mauve as a color dates from 1796-1798 according to the Oxford English Dictionary, but its use appears to have been rare before 1859. Another name for the color is mauve, with the first recorded use of mauve as a color. English color name in 1611. Mauve contains more gray and more blue than a pale magenta. Many pale wildflowers called “blues” are more accurately classified as purple. Mauve is also sometimes described as pale purple.