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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of Vandyke brown

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vandyke brown

For foliage tints, aureolin, French blue, and Vandyke brown, will be found of service; or as a glaze over such tints, the yellow and the brown.

From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Thomas Salter

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

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

Forty years ago Lady Kirkbank's long ringlets had been darkest glossiest brown, to-day she wore a tousled fringe of bright yellow, piquantly contrasting with Vandyke brown eyebrows.

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

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 Hamilton Wright Mabie

But not a word did he utter, for Helen touched her forehead significantly, and said in a low tone,— "I am an artist; let me recommend Vandyke brown, which is not affected by heat."

From Kitty's Class Day and Other Stories by Louisa May Alcott