Etymologically
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auburn

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 02:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɔ.bɚn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French auborne (“blond”),[2][3][4][5] through Anglo-French auburn,[3][6] from Medieval Latin alburnus (“whitish”),[3][4][5][6] from Latin albus (“white”).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Whitish or yellowish-white; flaxen (before 1420; 1430 in the OED).[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

From the 15th to the 17th century it was often spelled abron or abroun,[3] which suggested brown and shifted the meaning in the 16th century to reddish brown.[4][3] Since then it has mostly been used of hair.[4] It is used as a noun from 1852.[7][4]

Timeline

  • before 1420 – yellowish or whitish, blond.[3]
  • 1430 – yellowish or brownish white.[7]
  • 16th century – reddish brown.[4]
  • 1852 – as a noun.[7][4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of a reddish-brown or golden-brown colour, especially of hair.

Noun

  1. A reddish-brown or moderate brown colour.
  • alb
  • album
  • brown

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press