出典:Wiktionary
出典:『Wiktionary』 (2025/12/30 16:29 UTC 版)
The adjective is derived from 中期英語 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 中期英語) seems to have been due to the pronunciation of Old French tané.
The verb is derived from the adjective.
tawny (comparative tawnier, superlative tawniest)
tawny (third-person singular simple present tawnies, present participle tawnying, simple past and past participle tawnied)
From 中期英語 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.
tawny (countable and uncountable, plural tawnies or tawnys)