ecru

American  

[ek-roo, ey-kroo] / ˈɛk ru, ˈeɪ kru /

French écru

adjective

1. very light brown in color, as raw silk, unbleached linen, etc.

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noun

1. an ecru color.

ecru British  

/ ˈeɪkruː, ˈɛkruː /

noun

1. a greyish-yellow to a light greyish colour; the colour of unbleached linen

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adjective

1. of the colour ecru

Etymology

Origin of ecru

1865–70; < French, equivalent to é- completely (< Latin ex- ex- ¹ ) + cru raw (< Latin crūdus; see crude)

Explanation

If something is ecru, it's the beige color of sand. If you're looking for a neutral shade to paint your bedroom, you might try ecru. In French, écru means "raw or unbleached," from the Latin root crudus, "raw." The word was originally used to describe the color of unbleached linen, a very pale off-white, but over time ecru has come to mean a slightly darker beige shade, like a cup of milky tea, or even more of a gray-tinged brown or yellow. In general, if beige sounds boring, you can go with the more elegant word ecru.