tawny
UK /ˈtɔːni/ · US /ˈtɔni/ adjective, verb, noun
Forms tawnier tawniest tawnies tawnying tawnied tawnys tawney
- adjective Of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.
- verb (transitive) To cause (someone or something) to have a light brown to brownish orange colour; to tan, to tawn.
- verb (intransitive) To become a light brown to brownish orange colour; to tan, to tawn.
- noun A light brown to brownish orange colour.
- noun (specifically, heraldry) Synonym of tenné (“a rarely-used tincture of orange or bright brown”).
- noun Something of a light brown or brownish orange colour (particularly if it has the word tawny in its name).
- noun (Somerset) The common bullfinch or Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).
- noun (alcoholic beverages) In full tawny port: a sweet, fortified port wine which is blended and matured in wooden casks.
- noun A fabric of a light brown to brownish orange colour.
- noun (probably derogatory) A person with skin of a brown colour.
- noun Tawny frogmouth.
Synonyms
fulvid fulvous olivaster subfuscous swart swartish swarty brownish browny brunneous brunnescent tenné tawny-brown
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English tauni, tawne (“having a brownish-orange colour”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman taune, tawné, and Old French tané, tanné, tanney (“of a tan colour”), an adjective use of the past participle of taner (“to turn hide into leather, tan”), from tan (“pulped oak bark used to tan leather, tanbark”), ultimately from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰnwos, *(s)dʰonu (“fir”).
The -aw- spelling (also -au- in Middle English) seems to have been due to the pronunciation of Old French tané.
The verb is derived from the adjective.
* Medieval Latin tannāre (“to dye a tawny color; to tan”)
* Old Irish caerthann (“rowan”)
From Middle English tauni, tawne (“brownish-orange colour; cloth of this colour; sweet beverage of this colour”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman tawné, and Old French tané, tanné, tanney (“tan colour; cloth of this colour”), from tané (verb): see further at etymology 1.
Sense 2.1 (“Eurasian bullfinch”) is due to the brown colour of the female.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of a dull yellowish brown color, like things tanned, or persons who are sunburnt; as, tawny Moor or Spaniard; the tawny lion. "A leopard's tawny and spotted hide." Longfellow.
Etymology [F. tanné, p.p. of tanner to tan. See Tan, v. t. & n. Cf. Tenné.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tawny”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details