From Old English 'brun' (dark, lustrous) — possibly linked to 'bear,' a taboo name meaning 'the brown one.'
Of a colour produced by mixing red, yellow, and blue, resembling dark wood, rich soil, or coffee.
From Old English 'brūn,' from Proto-Germanic *brūnaz, meaning 'brown, dark, shining.' The PIE root is *bʰerH- meaning 'shining, brown,' with an original sense likely related to the gleaming dark colour of certain animals. The same root produced Old French 'brun' (which English re-borrowed as 'brunette'), Old Norse 'brúnn,' and possibly Greek