brown (English)
Where does "brown" come from?
The English adjective 'brown' descends from Middle English 'broun'[1][3], which comes from Old English 'brūn' meaning 'brown, dark, dusky'[1]. This Old English term traces back through Proto-West Germanic '*brūn' and Proto-Germanic '*brūnaz'[1][3], with the ultimate origin lying in the Proto-Indo-European root '*bʰerH-'[1][4]. Cognates across other languages include Dutch 'bruin', German 'braun', and Sanskrit 'babhrú' meaning 'reddish-brown'.
Open questions
- The connection between the Proto-Germanic form '*brūnaz' and the Proto-Indo-European root '*bʰerH-' is considered uncertain or tentative. [4]
Full etymology tree
- brown (English), 'Having a brown colour.'
- inherited broun (Middle English), 'dark, dull, murky (in color)'
- inherited brun (Old English), 'brown (color/colour)'
- inherited *brūn (Proto-West Germanic), 'brown'
- inherited *brūnaz (Proto-Germanic), 'brown'
- derived *bʰerH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to pierce'
- inherited *brūnaz (Proto-Germanic), 'brown'
- inherited *brūn (Proto-West Germanic), 'brown'
- inherited brun (Old English), 'brown (color/colour)'
- inherited broun (Middle English), 'dark, dull, murky (in color)'
Ancestors
- *bʰerH- (Proto-Indo-European)
- broun (Middle English)
- brun (Old English)
- *brūn (Proto-West Germanic)
- *brūnaz (Proto-Germanic)
Cognates and doublets
- φρύνη (Ancient Greek)
- bruin (Dutch)
- bruin (English)
- braun (German)
- brunneus (Latin)
- bėras (Lithuanian)
- बभ्रु (Sanskrit)
Descendants and derived words
- B@Cheek-PalmForward B@Jaw-PalmForward (American Sign Language)
Sources
- brown (English) - Wiktionary
- brun (Old English) - Wiktionary
- broun (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- brūnaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- brūn (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris