Idioms for brown

    browned off, Slang. angry; fed up.
    do it up brown, Informal. to do thoroughly: When they entertain, they really do it up brown.

Origin of brown

before 1000; Middle English; Old English brūn; cognate with Dutch bruin, German braun, Old Norse brūnn; akin to Lithuanian brúnas brown

usage note for brown

Brown as a noun and adjective to describe people with a brownish skin color is often perceived as insulting. Historically it has been used by anthropologists and scientists as a racial and ethnic classification to describe various dark-skinned populations, as in North Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia, and South Asia. It is also a term associated with colonialism. In recent times, brown has been used of Hispanics and South Asians in North America, many of whom self-identify as brown.

OTHER WORDS FROM brown

Definition for brown (2 of 2)

Brown
[ broun ]
/ braʊn /

noun

Example sentences from the Web for brown

British Dictionary definitions for brown (1 of 2)

brown
/ (braʊn) /

noun

adjective

verb

to make (esp food as a result of cooking) brown or (esp of food) to become brown

Derived forms of brown

brownish or browny, adjective brownness, noun

Word Origin for brown

Old English brūn; related to Old Norse brūnn, Old High German brūn, Greek phrunos toad, Sanskrit babhru reddish-brown

British Dictionary definitions for brown (2 of 2)

Brown
/ (braʊn) /

noun

Medical definitions for brown

Brown
[ broun ]
Michael Born 1941

American geneticist. He shared a 1985 Nobel Prize for discoveries related to cholesterol metabolism.

Idioms and Phrases with brown

brown