brunus

Forms

brūnus (feminine brūna, neuter brūnum); first/second-declension adjective^[1] Also brūneus and brūnius.^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old High German brūn (“brown”),^[1] from Proto-Germanic *brūnaz;^[1][3][4] the MLW and Niermeyer also call it Germanic.^[5][2] Köbler connects it with Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“shining, brown”).^[3] Du Cange reports Octavius Ferrarius' guess that it was named from the colour of plums, prūnum.^[6]

Etymonline notes that the Germanic word was adopted into Romance, as Italian bruno, Spanish bruno and French brun.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Constantine the African,^[3][5] who says that a hot and dry body has black hair and a brown complexion.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin it was used of brown or dark hair and complexions, of animals, and of things such as bread.^[5][7] Frederick II's book on falconry describes some saker falcons as brown tending to black.^[5] English records use it of horses and cows, as in equus brūnus badius, a brown-bay horse.^[7][3] The neuter was used as a noun for brown colour,^[5] and Köbler records a noun brūnus for a coarse brown woollen cloth.^[3]

Timeline

• 1020–1087 – Constantine the African uses it of complexion.^[5][3]
• 1086 – Domesday Book has it as a byname.^[7]
• 1300 – A royal account records an equus brūnus badius.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) brown, dark.^[2][5][7][1]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, neuter) Brown colour.^[5]
2. (Medieval Latin) A coarse brown woollen cloth.^[3]

Related words

• fuscus
• English brown

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
7. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press