Brown Definition

broun
browned, brownest, browning, browns, browner
noun
browns
Any of a group of colors between red and yellow in hue that are medium to low in lightness and low to moderate in saturation.
American Heritage
Brown color.
Webster's New World
Brown pigment or dye.
Webster's New World

A colour like that of chocolate or coffee.

The browns and greens in this painting give it a nice woodsy feel.
Wiktionary

(snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of 4 points.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:
adjective
brownest, browner
Having the color of chocolate or coffee, a combination of red, black, and yellow.
Webster's New World
Having a naturally dark or tanned skin; dark-skinned.
Webster's New World
Of or being a person of nonwhite origin.
American Heritage
Deeply suntanned.
American Heritage
verb
browned, browning, browns
To make or become brown.
American Heritage
To cook until brown.
American Heritage
To make or become brown, esp. by exposure to sunlight, as in tanning, or to heat, as in cooking.
Webster's New World

To tan.

Light-skinned people tend to brown when exposed to the sun.
Wiktionary
To become brown.
Fry the onions until they brown.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
pronoun

A common surname​.

Wiktionary
idiom
be browned off
  • to be angry, disgusted, etc.
Webster's New World
do up brown
  • to do completely or perfectly
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Brown

Noun

Singular:
brown
Plural:
browns

Adjective

Base Form:
brown
Comparative:
browner
Superlative:
brownest

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Brown

  • be browned off
  • do up brown

Origin of Brown

  • From Middle English broun, from Old English brūn (“dark, shining”), from Proto-Germanic *brūnaz (compare West Frisian brún, Dutch bruin, German braun), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHnos (compare Ancient Greek φρύνη (phrýnē), φρῦνος (phrŷnos, “toad”)), enlargement of *bʰrew- (“shiny, brown”) (compare Lithuanian bė́ras (“brown”), Sanskrit बभ्रु (babhrú, “reddish-brown”)).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English brūn bher-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Originally a nickname for someone with brown hair or a dark complexion.

    From Wiktionary

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