Ecru is a grayish yellow or
cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
colour. It initially indicated the colour of unbleached
linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
(approximately #FEFEE0 ), and some English dictionaries still define it this way. However, over the years it has also come to be used for a quite different, much darker color.
Ecru comes from the French word for the color of unbleached linen, and the word means "raw, unbleached" in French.
It has also been known as "the colour of silk".
Traditionally ecru was considered a shade of
beige
Beige ( ) is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither ble ...
. Beginning in the 19th century it became more precisely defined as "a grayish yellow that is greener and paler than chamois or old ivory".
The
normalized colour coordinates for ecru are identical to
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
, which was first recorded as a colour name in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
in 1627.
[ Maerz & Paul (1930), p. 203; color sample of sand: p. 49, plate 13, color sample B2]
See also
*
Lists of colors
These are the lists of colors;
* List of colors: A–F
* List of colors: G–M
* List of colors: N–Z
* List of colors (alphabetical)
* List of colors by shade
* List of color palettes
* List of Crayola crayon colors
* List of RAL colours
* Lis ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* There is a newer 1950 2nd edition, but both versions are collector's items that are difficult to find except via
inter-library loan
Inter-library loan (abbreviated ILL, sometimes called document delivery, document supply, inter-lending, inter-library services, inter-loan, or resource sharing) is a service that enables patrons of one library to borrow materials that are held by ...
.
External links
*
Shades of brown
{{colour-stub