Vandyke brown

American  

noun

1. a medium brown color.

2. any of several dark-brown pigments consisting of iron oxide mixed with lampblack or similar materials.

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Vandyke brown British  

noun

1. 1. a moderate brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a Vandyke-brown suit

2. any of various brown pigments, usually consisting of a mixture of ferric oxide and lampblack

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Etymology

Origin of Vandyke brown

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vandyke brown

The eyebrows, too, had given in, and narrow lines of Vandyke brown meandered down Lady Kirkbank's cheeks.

From Phantom Fortune, a Novel by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)

He was an attenuated and rather effeminate person, exquisitely dressed and powdered, and not without a suspicion of rouge upon his hollow cheeks or of Vandyke brown upon his delicately penciled eyebrows.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 5 by Mabie, Hamilton Wright

We were going to have roast pork for dinner with boiled potatoes and what Andrew calls Vandyke brown gravy.

From Parnassus on Wheels by Morley, Christopher

Vandyke brown is used to color the filler, if none but natural color is to be had.

From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part 2 by Windsor, H. H. (Henry Haven)

If I were Chancellor of the Exchequer I would lay a tax of twenty shillings a cake on all colors except black, Prussian blue, Vandyke brown, and Chinese white, which I would leave for students.

From The Elements of Drawing In Three Letters to Beginners by Ruskin, John