Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Brown?

\Brown\, a. [Compar. {Browner}; superl. {Brownest}.] [OE. brun, broun, AS. br?n; akin to D. bruin, OHG. br?n, Icel. br?nn, Sw. brun, Dan. bruun, G. braun, Lith. brunas, Skr. babhru. [root]93, 253. Cf. {Bruin}, {Beaver}, {Burnish}, {Brunette}.] Of a dark color, of various shades between black and red or yellow. Cheeks brown as the oak leaves. --Longfellow. {Brown Bess}, the old regulation flintlock smoothbore musket, with bronzed barrel, formerly used in the British army. {Brown bread} (a) Dark colored bread; esp. a kind made of unbolted wheat flour, sometimes called in the United States Graham bread. ``He would mouth with a beggar though she smelt brown bread and garlic.'' --Shak. (b) Dark colored bread made of rye meal and Indian meal, or of wheat and rye or Indian; rye and Indian bread. [U.S.] {Brown coal}, wood coal. See {Lignite}. {Brown hematite} or {Brown iron ore} (Min.), the hydrous iron oxide, limonite, which has a brown streak. See {Limonite}. {Brown holland}. See under {Holland}. {Brown paper}, dark colored paper, esp. coarse wrapping paper, made of unbleached materials. {Brown spar} (Min.), a ferruginous variety of dolomite, in part identical with ankerite. {Brown stone}. See {Brownstone}. {Brown stout}, a strong kind of porter or malt liquor. {Brown study}, a state of mental abstraction or serious reverie. --W. Irving.
\Brown\, n. A dark color inclining to red or yellow, resulting from the mixture of red and black, or of red, black, and yellow; a tawny, dusky hue.
\Brown\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Browned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Browning}.] 1. To make brown or dusky. A trembling twilight o'er welkin moves, Browns the dim void and darkens deep the groves. --Barlow. 2. To make brown by scorching slightly; as, to brown meat or flour. 3. To give a bright brown color to, as to gun barrels, by forming a thin coat of oxide on their surface. --Ure.
\Brown\, v. i. To become brown.