tawny
Syllables: taw·ny/ˈtɔːni/US/ˈtɔni/
tawny adjective: of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.
Adjective
tawny (comparative tawnier, superlative tawniest)
- Of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.
- And if any of your nation attempte once to ſtoppe me in my iorney now towards Calais, […] I in my defence ſhall colour and make red your tawny ground with the effuſion of chriſtian bloud: […]1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “King Henrie the Fifth”, in The Laste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume II, London: […] for Iohn Hunne, →OCLC, page 1077, column 2
- The VVooſell cock, ſo blacke of hevve, / VVith Orange tavvny bill, / The Throſtle, vvith his note ſo true, / The VVren, vvith little quill.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]
Verb
tawny (third-person singular simple present tawnies, present participle tawnying, simple past and past participle tawnied)
- To cause (someone or something) to have a light brown to brownish orange colour; to tan, to tawn.
- So many friends, their friendſhips daily breake, / That fevve are faithfull, if that fevve be any: / The Sunne ſo ſoone, the painted face vvill tavvny.1602, Nicholas Breton, The Mothers Blessing, London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for Iohn Smethick, […], →OCLC, signature [D4], recto
- He [Vulcan] ſmels all ſmoake, and vvith his naſty ſvveate / Tavvnies my skinne, out on him vgly knaue, / Mars is my loue, and he my ſvveets ſhall haue.1613, Thomas Heywood, The Brazen Age, […], London: […] Nicholas Okes, […], →OCLC, Act II, signature I2, verso
- To become a light brown to brownish orange colour; to tan, to tawn.
- The countenance alone bespoke the years and the cares of John M‘Whirter. The deep wrinkled brow—the cheek plaited, and tawnied in the sun and the frosts of the north— […]1825, chapter XI, in The Abduction; or, The Adventures of Major Sarney: A Story of the Times of Charles the Second. […], volume II, London: […] [William Clowes] for Charles Knight, […], →OCLC, page...
- In his drowse it all turned gleaming and mixing in him, his whole life, like the river gleaming taut between the trees. And everything that had ever happened to him tawnied over by the voluptuous light of the last fall, and his mouth watered for it all.1990, Meridel Le Sueur, “Gone Home”, in Elaine Hedges, editor, Ripening: Selected Work, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, →ISBN, page 215
Noun
tawny (countable and uncountable, plural tawnies or tawnys)
- A light brown to brownish orange colour.
- Neere to Canuſia, the ſheepe be deepe yellovv or tavvnie; and about Tarentum, they are of a brovvne and duſkiſh colour.1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VIII.] Divers Kinds of Wooll and Clothes.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall...
- Despise not my discolour'd look: / This tawny from the sun I took.1641, George Sandys, “A Paraphrase upon the Song of Solomon. Canto I.”, in The Poetical Works of George Sandys. […], volume II, London: John Russell Smith, […], published 1872, →OCLC, page 340
- Synonym of tenné (“a rarely-used tincture of orange or bright brown”).
- [T]he Herehaught [herald] muſt have a ſinguler reſpect to the face of him that ſhould haue the Armes, vvhere he ſhal vvel perceiue in vvhat ſeaſõ of the yere, his ovvn complexion vvill ſerue him to do beſt ſeruice in: […] If in Somer, either a Hound or Salamandra, or ſome part of them, of the...1597, Gerard Leigh [i.e., Gerard Legh], The Accedence of Armorie, London: […] Henrie Ballard […], →OCLC, folio 116, verso
- Tavvny (ſaith Leigh [i.e., Gerard Legh]) is a Colour of vvorſhip, and of ſome Heralds it is called Bruske, and is moſt commonly borne of French Gentlemen, but very fevv doe beare it in England. In Blazon it is knovvne by the name of Tenne. It is (ſaith he) the ſureſt colour that is (of ſo bright a...1632, John Guillim, “Sect[ion] I. Chap[ter] III.”, in A Display of Heraldrie: […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Badger for Ralph Mab, →OCLC, page 21
- Something of a light brown or brownish orange colour (particularly if it has the word tawny in its name).
- Iohn VVittie his great tavvny Gilloflovver is for forme of grovving, in leafe and flovver altogether like vnto the ordinary tavvny, the flovver onely, becauſe it is the faireſt and greateſt that any other hath nourſed vp, maketh the difference, as alſo that it is of a faire deepe ſcarlet colour....1629, John Parkinson, “Caryophyllus hortensus. Carnations and Gilloflowers.”, in Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. […], London: […] Hvmfrey Lownes and Robert Yovng […], →OCLC, pages 311–312
- The Tawny Owl may easily be induced, under favourable conditions, to take up its quarters near the houses of men. The writer is familiar with a pair of Tawnies which have nested for many years in one of several covered-in boxes fitted up in the trees that overhang the shrubberies in the grounds....1895, Aubyn Trevor-Battye, “March. Our Birds of Prey.”, in Oswald Crawfurd, editor, A Year of Sport and Natural History: Shooting, Hunting, Coursing, Falconry and Fishing […], London: Chapman and...
- The common bullfinch or Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).
- TAWNY. A bullfinch. Somerset.[1847, James Orchard Halliwell, “TAWNY”, in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century. […], volume II (J–Z), London...
- In full tawny port: a sweet, fortified port wine which is blended and matured in wooden casks.
- Tawny is the most versatile Port style. The best tawnies are good-quality wines that have faded to a pale garnet or brownish red color during long wood aging. […] We consider 10- and 20-year-old tawnies the best buys; the older ones aren't always worth the extra bucks.2006, Ed McCarthy, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, “Wine Roads Less Traveled: Fortified and Dessert Wines”, in Wine for Dummies (For Dummies), 4th edition, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part V...
- A ten-year-old tawny is a good place to start with a tawny port novice, who might otherwise be put off by the oxidized flavors (i.e., more wood and earth notes than fruit) that come with a very old tawny.2007, Lettie Teague, “Portugal”, in Educating Peter: How I Taught a Famous Movie Critic the Difference between Cabernet and Merlot or How Anyone Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert, New York...
- A fabric of a light brown to brownish orange colour.
- [N]o perſone, or perſones, occupiyng the ſeate of diẽg, ſhal die, or altre into colours, or cauſe to be died, or altred into colours, any wollen clothes, as broune blewes, pieukes, tawnies, or violettes, except the ſame wollẽ clothes be perfeictly boiled, greined or madered vpon the woade, & ſhot...1553, “The Seconde Chapitre. An Acte for the True Making of Woullen Clothes.”, in Anno III. & IIII. Edwardi Sexti. Actes Made in the Session of This Present Parlament, Holden vpon Prorogation at...
- You ſhall doe well to ſend ſuch ſorts [of clothes] as be liuely to the ſight, and ſome blackes for womens garments, with ſome Orenge colours and tawneis.1566 August 17 (Gregorian calendar), Arthur Edwards, “A Letter of M. Arthur Edwards, Written the 8. of August 1566. from the Towne of Shamakie in Media, to the Right Worshipfull the Gouernours...
- A person with skin of a brown colour.
- The Tavvnies among vvhom vve came, have VVatered our Soyl, vvith the Blood, of many Hundred of our Inhabitants.1692 (indicated as 1693), Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World. Observations as well Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils. […]...
- Senegal ſeparates the Azoaghes, Moors or Tavvnies, from the real Blacks; ſo that on one ſide of the River are the Moors of a Tavvny Complexion, and the other is Inhabited by People that are perfectly Black.1696, [Jacques-Joseph] Le Maire, A Voyage of the Sieur Le Maire to the Canary Islands, Cape-Verd, Senegal and Gamby, under Monsieur Dancourt, Director-General of the Royal African Company. […]...
- Tawny frogmouth.
- Tawny owl.
tawny meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Telugu
tawny in Hindi
- of a light brown to brownish orange colour
- पिंग piṅg
tawny in Tamil
- light brown to brownish orange colour
- கபிலம் kapilam, பிசங்கம் picaṅkam, பிங்கலம் piṅkalam, பிங்கம் piṅkam
tawny in Urdu
- بھورا, چمپئ, سانولا
tawny in Telugu
- of a light brown to brownish orange colour
- హరి hari, కపిలము kapilamu, పింగళము piṅgaḷamu
- light brown to brownish orange colour
- కడారము kaḍāramu, కాషాయము kāṣāyamu
More languagesFewer languages
- tawny in Malayalam
- ഇളം തവിട്ട്
- tawny in Kannada
- ನಸುಗೆಂಪು
- tawny in Sanskrit
- बभ्रु babhru, हरि hari, पिङ्ग piṅga, पिङ्गल piṅgala
- tawny in Arabic
- آدَم ʔādam, أَمْغَر ʔamḡar, أَشْقَر ʔašqar, أَشْهَل ʔašhal
- tawny in Indonesian
- soga
- tawny in Persian
- گندمگون gandomgūn
- tawny in Vietnamese
- ngăm
Examples of tawny in a sentence
- [T]he head waiter inquired with respectful solicitude whether that port, being a light and tawny wine, was suited to his taste, or whether he would wish to try a fruity port with greater body.1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, “Will be Seen in the Long Run, if Not in the Short One, to Concern Mr. Pinch and Others...
- [P]erhaps they metamorphose themselves into a tawny squirrel that scampers away and mocks you from the topmost bough.1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “In the Wood”, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons...
- There were the tawny rocks, like lions couchant, defying the ocean, whose waves incessantly dashed against and scoured them with vast quantities of gravel.1865, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “The Shipwreck”, in [Sophia Thoreau; William Ellery Channing], editors, Cape Cod, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and...
- They fell a-twittering among themselves once more, and this time their intoxicating babble was of violet seas, tawny sands, and lizard-haunted walls.1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “Wayfarers All”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 196:
Synonyms of tawny
2 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of tawny
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | tawnier |
| superlative | tawniest |
| alternative form | tawney |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | tawnies |
| present participle | tawnying |
| past participle | tawnied |
| past | tawnied |
| Noun | |
| plural | tawnies |
| plural | tawnys |
Origin of tawny
The adjective is derived from Middle English tauni, tawne (“having a brownish-orange colour”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman taune, tawné, and Old French tané, tanné, tanney (“of a tan colour”), an adjective use of the past participle of taner (“to turn hide into leather, tan”), from tan (“pulped oak bark used to tan leather, tanbark”), ultimately from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰnwos, *(s)dʰonu (“fir”). The -aw- spelling (also -au- in Middle English) seems to have been due to the pronunciation of Old French tané. The verb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Breton tann * Medieval Latin tannāre (“to dye a tawny color; to tan”) * Old Irish caerthann (“rowan”)
From Middle English tauni, tawne (“brownish-orange colour; cloth of this colour; sweet beverage of this colour”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman tawné, and Old French tané, tanné, tanney (“tan colour; cloth of this colour”), from tané (verb): see further at etymology 1. Sense 2.1 (“Eurasian bullfinch”) is due to the brown colour of the female.
Words formed from tawny
Phrases with tawny
Words that rhyme with tawny
Questions about tawny
- What does tawny mean?
- Tawny means of a light brown to brownish orange colour; orangey brown tinged with gold.
- What is tawny in Hindi?
- Tawny in Hindi is पिंग (piṅg). See Tawny meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use tawny in a sentence?
- [T]he head waiter inquired with respectful solicitude whether that port, being a light and tawny wine, was suited to his taste, or whether he would wish to try a fruity port with greater body.
- What part of speech is tawny?
- Tawny can be an adjective, a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce tawny?
- Tawny is pronounced /ˈtɔːni/ (UK).
Words near tawny in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tawny (page history and authors); tawny (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); tawny (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); tawny (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-tawny.wav.
Cite this entry: “tawny.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tawny. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.