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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of Vandyke brown

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

A well-fitted doublet and hose, of a grave colour, were partially concealed by a short camlet cloak of Vandyke brown.

From Rob of the Bowl, Vol. I (of 2) A Legend of St. Inigoe's by Kennedy, John P.

The whole was trimmed with a beading of yellow pine, and rubbed, and pumice-stoned, and oiled, and I got out my tubes of paint and painted the nail-holes with Vandyke brown.

From Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe Compiled From Her Letters and Journals by Her Son Charles Edward Stowe by Stowe, Harriet Beecher

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

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

The Vandyke brown of the present day is a bituminous ochre, purified by grinding and washing over.

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

We were going to have roast pork for dinner with boiled potatoes and what Andrew calls Vandyke brown gravy.

From Parnassus on Wheels by Morley, Christopher