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.

Example Sentences

The bags are pretty simple in design: a bland ecru exterior emblazoned with TJ’s trademark emblem along with straps that come in a red, navy, yellow or green hue.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2024

Greene’s outfit Tuesday — a white, knee-length dress paired with an ecru Overland alpaca wool coat with an alpaca fur trim on the hood and collar — was surprising for a handful of reasons.

From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2023

Lewis’s silver hair is combed flat against his scalp, and he wears collarless shirts and soft jackets in rarefied neutral tones like ecru, pewter and mother-of-walrus.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2022

Black, ecru and variations of orange tones dominated most of the looks for the Richemont-owned French label, founded by Gaby Aghion and celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

From Reuters • Mar. 3, 2022

The figure is barely painted, all in one color, a light ecru.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman