tawny means of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold. It carries an Arena rating of 1597, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, tawny ranks #1,388 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,613 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,144 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #4,804 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
tawny is pronounced /ˈtɔːni/.
Why “tawny” is a great word
A light brown to brownish orange color. It comes from the Anglo-Norman *tauné*, itself from the Old French *tané* (“of a tan color”), tracing back through *taner* (“to tan”) to the Celtic word for green oak, the source of the bark used in the process. Unlike "fulvous," which denotes a duller, brownish-yellow hue in scientific catalogs, or "beige," which describes a pale and neutral absence of color, tawny is the essence of warmth steeped in hide and earth. It is the sun-baked flank of a lion in dry grass, the seasoned leather of a well-used saddle, the dregs of strong tea left in a porcelain cup—the color of things patiently darkened by time and use, a memory of amber held in common clay.
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”)
adj
- Of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.
verb
- 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.e.g.“The countenance alone bespoke the years and the cares of John M‘Whirter. The deep wrinkled brow—the cheek plaited, and tawnied in the sun and the frosts of the north— […]” — 1825, chapter XI, in The Abduction; or, The Adventures of Major Sarney: A Story of the Times of Charles the Second. […], volume II, London: […] [William Clowes] for Charles Knight, […], →OCLC, page 24
noun
- A light brown to brownish orange colour.
- 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).
- 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).e.g.“TAWNY. A bullfinch. Somerset.” — [1847, James Orchard Halliwell, “TAWNY”, in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century. […], volume II (J–Z), London: Jo
- 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.e.g.“The Tavvnies among vvhom vve came, have VVatered our Soyl, vvith the Blood, of many Hundred of our Inhabitants.” — 1692 (indicated as 1693), Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World. Observations as well Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils. […], Boston,
- Tawny frogmouth.
- Tawny owl.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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