taupe

[tohp]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taupe ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a moderate to dark brownish gray, sometimes slightly tinged with purple, yellow, or green.

Origin of taupe

1910–15; < French < Latin talpa mole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for taupe

tan, cream, taupe, khaki, camel, off-white, fawn, mushroom, neutral, oatmeal, ecru, buff, biscuit, sand

Examples from the Web for taupe

Contemporary Examples of taupe

The tailoring focused on shades of black, olive, gray, and taupe.
Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten Kick Off Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week
Robin Givhan
March 1, 2012

Historical Examples of taupe

The little steamer was feeling her cautious way up a river of dull silver between banks of taupe and mauve.
Jane Journeys On
Ruth Comfort Mitchell
Her frock was taupe colored, of a soft woolen material, ornamented with many small buttons.
The Mystery Girl
Carolyn Wells
The bathroom has the walls painted in broad stripes of dull blue and taupe, the stripes being quite six inches wide.
The Art of Interior Decoration
Grace Wood
The old puzzle sentence, Caille a haut nid, taupe a bas nid, shows this very well.
Jamaican Song and Story
Walter Jekyll

British Dictionary definitions for taupe

taupe

noun

a brownish-grey colour
(as adjective)a taupe coat

Word Origin for taupe

C20: from French, literally: mole, from Latin talpa

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for taupe

1880s, "a mole," later (1911) "dark brownish-gray color" (the color of moleskin), from French taupe, the color, originally "a mole," from Latin talpa "a mole."