Origin of brown
before 1000; Middle English; Old English brūn; cognate with Dutch bruin, German braun, Old Norse brūnn; akin to Lithuanian brúnas brown
Usage note
Brown as a noun and adjective to describe people with a brownish skin color is often perceived as insulting. Historically it has been used by anthropologists and scientists as a racial and ethnic classification to describe various dark-skinned populations, as in North Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia, and South Asia. It is also a term associated with colonialism. In recent times, brown has been used of Hispanics and South Asians in North America, many of whom self-identify as brown.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for browner
fawn, ginger, tan, toast, amber, brick, nut, buff, coffee, drab, dust, bronze, bay, ecru, beige, rust, copper, cinnamon, russet, puceExamples from the Web for browner
Contemporary Examples of browner
Historical Examples of browner
Albine's snowy skin was but the whiteness of Serge's browner skin.
Abbe Mouret's TransgressionEmile Zola
I really think you must be a little like him, only browner and taller, perhaps.
The Princess VirginiaC. N. Williamson
During all these days Sergius had grown thinner and browner.
The Lion's BroodDuffield Osborne
The other man was younger and browner, and of a compact, athletic figure.
Cavanagh: Forest RangerHamlin Garland
It forms a large ball, and browner; dandelion seed-balls are white.
The Toilers of the FieldRichard Jefferies
brown
noun
adjective
verb
Word Origin for brown
Old English brūn; related to Old Norse brūnn, Old High German brūn, Greek phrunos toad, Sanskrit babhru reddish-brown
Brown
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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brown
brown
brown
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Brown
[broun]Michael Born 1941
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
brown
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.