auburn

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   reddish-brown in color, especially when describing hair

   Her auburn hair looked coppery in the afternoon sun.

2. 2
   noun

   a moderate reddish-brown color

   The leaves deepened from gold to auburn as autumn advanced.

Simplified etymology

Auburn ultimately comes from Latin albus, “white,” through medieval Latin alburnus, “whitish,” and Old French alborne or auborne, “yellowish white.” Variant English spellings such as abrune and abroun encouraged an association with brown, and the meaning gradually shifted to “golden-brown” or “reddish-brown.”

From Middle English auburne and related forms, originally meaning "yellowish-white" or "flaxen," from Old French alborne and Medieval Latin alburnus, "whitish," from Latin albus, "white." Influence from brown-colored forms shifted the English word toward its modern reddish-brown sense.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary