Taupe ( ) is a dark gray-

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

color. The word derives from the French noun ''taupe'' meaning " mole". The name originally referred only to the average color of the French mole, but beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades. Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish brown or brownish gray, but true taupe is difficult to pinpoint as brown or gray. According to the ''Dictionary of Color'', the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century; but the earliest citation recorded by the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' is from 1911. In 1846 it was claimed that "All shades of grey are fashionable en neglige, particularly pearl grey, iron grey, and taupe."

Description

Taupe colors fall into a range from dark tan to grayish brown or brownish gray. The word derives from the French noun , which in turn is from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, both meaning " mole" (the mammal). The name originally referred only to the average

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

of the French mole, but (as in the case of the colors

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

and

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

), beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades. Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish-brown, brownish-gray, or warm gray color. It often overlaps with tan and even people who use color professionally (such as

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

s and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

s) frequently disagree as to what "taupe" means. Taupe itself, however, is not directly correlated with such colors as purple or pink. There is no single, generally recognized authority for such terms, but the addition of such colors can create a wider variety of shades which can benefit either art. When viewed on a precisely calibrated monitor, the color displayed adjacent matches the color sample called taupe referenced in the 1930 book ''A Dictionary of Color'', the world standard for color terms before the invention of

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

s. However, the word ''taupe'' may often be used to refer to lighter shades of taupe today, and therefore another name for this color is dark taupe. According to the ''Dictionary of Color'', the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century, but the earliest citation recorded by the ''

'' is from 1911. The normalized color coordinates for taupe are identical to dark lava, which was formalized as a color name in the ISCC–NBS system in 1955.

Variations of taupe

Pale taupe (mouse)

The first recorded use of ''mouse'' as a color name in English was in 1606.

Light taupe

Light taupe (dark tan) is the light tone of taupe that is the color called ''taupe'' in Crayola colored pencils.

Mauve taupe

Adjacent is displayed the color mauve taupe. The first recorded use of ''mauve taupe'' as a color name in English was in 1925. The normalized color coordinates for mauve taupe are identical to raspberry glacé, first recorded as a color name in English in 1926.

Rose taupe

The color displayed adjacent is rose taupe. The first recorded use of rose taupe as a color name in English was in 1924.

Sandy taupe

Adjacent is displayed the color sandy taupe. This color is also called ''taupe sand''.

Taupe gray

Displayed adjacent is the color taupe gray.

Deep taupe

The color deep taupe is displayed adjacent. The source of this color is the " Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-1612 TPX—Deep Taupe.

Taupe brown

The color taupe brown is a very dark shade of tan that almost appears brown and is displayed adjacent. This is the color shown as the color ''taupe brown'' in ISCC-NBS color sample #46.

Taupe Beige

The color Taupe Beige color offers a palette of natural and warm colours. This is the color shown as the color ''taupe brown'' in ISCC-NBS color sample #46. Another name for this color is medium taupe.

References

External links

* —Color dictionary used by stamp collectors to identify the colors of stamps—see samples of the various tones of taupe displayed on the indicated page.
"Learn What Taupe Color is and How You Should Actually Use It"Architect Anton Giuroiu
, Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, Romania
Taupe Color Chart and Color Codes
{{Shades of brown Shades of brown Shades of gray