tawny

American  

[taw-nee] / ˈtɔ ni /

Sometimes tawney

adjective

tawnier, tawniest

1. of a dark yellowish or dull yellowish-brown color.

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noun

tawnies plural

1. a shade of brown tinged with yellow; dull yellowish brown.

tawny British  

/ ˈtɔːnɪ /

noun

1. 1. a light brown to brownish-orange colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      tawny port

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tawniness
  noun
• tawnily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tawnies
  plural

Adjectives

• tawnier
  comparative
• tawniest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of tawny

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English tauny, from Anglo-French taune, from Middle French tané, past participle of taner “to tan”; see tan ¹

Explanation

A color adjective, tawny describes something that is a mix of yellow, orange, and brown colors. A lion has a beautiful tawny coat. Tawny comes from the Anglo-Norman word, taune, which means tanned. Although you might think first of sun tans, which do indeed produce tawny colors in light-skinned people (as long as they don't go straight to lobster red), tan first meant the bark of an oak tree, used to cure leather. It's from the look of tanned leather that we get skin tans and the word tawny.

Example Sentences

Tawny owls, jays and even foxes have since been spotted among the monuments; many of these creatures are depicted in striking photographs taken by the author that pepper the text.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

One nocturnal bird called a Tawny Frogmouth woke up from where it usually camouflages as a rotting tree stump.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2024

A 3-year-old visiting for the second time listened to her grandfather reading “The Tawny Scrawny Lion.”

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2024

Triple-digit temperatures across the region and difficult topography are proving challenging for crews battling the wildfire, said Tawny Castro, public information officer with the county fire department.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2023

And there would be Tawny and Crownpoint and their fawns, Willow, Thistle, and Brook, happily nibbling on the garden.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown