tawny
Meanings
- Of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.
- To cause (someone or something) to have a light brown to brownish orange colour; to tan, to tawn.
- To become a light brown to brownish orange colour; to tan, to tawn.
- A light brown to brownish orange colour.
- Synonym of tenné (“a rarely-used tincture of orange or bright brown”).
- Something of a light brown or brownish orange colour (particularly if it has the word tawny in its name).
- The common bullfinch or Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).
- In full tawny port: a sweet, fortified port wine which is blended and matured in wooden casks.
- A fabric of a light brown to brownish orange colour.
- A person with skin of a brown colour.
- Tawny frogmouth.
- Tawny owl.
Pronunciation
Word forms
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. Cognates * Breton tann * Medieval Latin tannāre (“to dye a tawny color; to tan”) * Old Irish caerthann (“rowan”)