taupe
English
WOTD – 25 September 2008
Etymology
Borrowed from French taupe, from Latin talpa (“mole”). Doublet of talpa.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /təʊp/
- (US, Canada) IPA(key): /toʊp/
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -əʊp
Noun
taupe (countable and uncountable, plural taupes)
- A dark brownish-grey colour, the colour of moleskin.
- taupe:
Translations
a dark brownish-gray colour
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Adjective
taupe (comparative more taupe, superlative most taupe)
- Of a dark brownish-grey colour.
- November 1915, Ben Hecht, “Life”, in The Little Review:
- At five o'clock the patch of daylight above the red-lighted exit door turned taupe, as though a gray curtain had been flung across it; […]
- February 1952, Wallace Earle Stegner, “Pop Goes the Alley Cat”, in Harper's Magazine:
- In the front room, on an old taupe overstuffed sofa, the head of the house lay in a blanket bathrobe, […]
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Translations
of a dark brownish-gray colour
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See also
- Appendix:Colors
Anagrams
- ate up, eat up
French
Etymology
From Old French taupe, inherited from Latin talpa.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /top/
audio (CA) (file) Audio (file)
Noun
taupe f (plural taupes)
- mole (burrowing mammal)
- (figuratively) (espionage) mole (undercover agent)
- tunneler
- (education) higher mathematics class
Derived terms
- myope comme une taupe
- taupe-grillon
- taupicide
- taupier
- taupière
- taupinière
Adjective
taupe (plural taupes)
- taupe
Further reading
- “taupe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Norman
Etymology
From Old French taupe, from Latin talpa.
Pronunciation
Audio (Jersey) (file)
Noun
taupe f (plural taupes)
- (Jersey) mole (mammal)
Synonyms
- taupîn
Old French
Etymology
From Latin talpa.
Noun
taupe f (oblique plural taupes, nominative singular taupe, nominative plural taupes)
- mole (mammal)
Descendants
- French: taupe
- Norman: taupe (Jersey)
Tocharian B
Noun
taupe m
- mine (place from which ore is extracted)