Taupe

Taupe
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#483C32
sRGBB (r, g, b)(72, 60, 50)
HSV (h, s, v)(27°, 31%, 28%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(26, 11, 47°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorDark grayish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Taupe ( /ˈtp/ TOHP) is a dark gray-brown color. The word derives from the French noun taupe meaning "mole". The name originally referred only to the average color of the French mole, but beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades.[1]

Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish brown or brownish gray, but true taupe is difficult to pinpoint as brown or gray.[1]

According to the Dictionary of Color, the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century; but the earliest citation recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1911. In 1846 it was claimed that "All shades of grey are fashionable en neglige, particularly pearl grey, iron grey, and taupe."[2][3]

Description

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Taupe (#483C32)
#483C32

A mole

Taupe colors fall into a range from dark tan to grayish brown or brownish gray. The word derives from the French noun taupe, which in turn is from the Latin talpa, both meaning "mole" (the mammal).[4] The name originally referred only to the average color of the French mole,[5] but (as in the case of the colors pink and lavender), beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades.

Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish-brown, brownish-gray, or warm gray color. It often overlaps with tan and even people who use color professionally (such as designers and artists) frequently disagree as to what "taupe" means. Taupe itself, however, is not directly correlated with such colors as purple or pink. There is no single, generally recognized authority for such terms, but the addition of such colors can create a wider variety of shades which can benefit either art.

When viewed on a precisely calibrated monitor, the color displayed adjacent matches the color sample called taupe referenced in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the world standard for color terms before the invention of computers. However, the word taupe may often be used to refer to lighter shades of taupe today, and therefore another name for this color is dark taupe.

According to the Dictionary of Color, the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century;[6] but the earliest citation recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1911.[7]

The normalized color coordinates for taupe are identical to dark lava, which was formalized as a color name in the ISCC–NBS system in 1955.[8]

Variations of taupe

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Pale taupe (mouse)

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The first recorded use of mouse as a color name in English was in 1606.[9]

Light taupe

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Light Taupe
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#B38B6D
sRGBB (r, g, b)(179, 139, 109)
HSV (h, s, v)(26°, 39%, 70%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(61, 39, 43°)
SourceCrayola
ISCC–NBS descriptorLight brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Light taupe (dark tan) is the light tone of taupe that is the color called taupe in Crayola colored pencils.

Mauve taupe

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Mauve Taupe
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#915F6D
sRGBB (r, g, b)(145, 95, 109)
HSV (h, s, v)(343°, 34%, 57%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(46, 31, 354°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish purplish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Adjacent is displayed the color mauve taupe.

The first recorded use of mauve taupe as a color name in English was in 1925.[10]

The normalized color coordinates for mauve taupe are identical to raspberry glacé, first recorded as a color name in English in 1926.[11]

Rose taupe

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Rose Taupe
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#905D5D
sRGBB (r, g, b)(144, 93, 93)
HSV (h, s, v)(0°, 35%, 56%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(45, 34, 12°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color displayed adjacent is rose taupe.

The first recorded use of rose taupe as a color name in English was in 1924.[12]

Sandy taupe

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Sandy Taupe
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#967117
sRGBB (r, g, b)(150, 113, 23)
HSV (h, s, v)(43°, 85%, 59%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(50, 58, 58°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate olive brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Adjacent is displayed the color sandy taupe.

This color is also called taupe sand.

Taupe gray

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Taupe Gray
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#8B8589
sRGBB (r, g, b)(139, 133, 137)
HSV (h, s, v)(320°, 4%, 55%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(56, 4, 323°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorMedium gray
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed adjacent is the color taupe gray.

Deep taupe

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Deep Taupe
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#7E5E60
sRGBB (r, g, b)(126, 94, 96)
HSV (h, s, v)(356°, 25%, 49%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(43, 20, 8°)
SourcePantone TPX[13]
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color deep taupe is displayed adjacent.

The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-1612 TPX—Deep Taupe.[14]

Taupe brown

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Taupe Brown
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#674C47
sRGBB (r, g, b)(103, 76, 71)
HSV (h, s, v)(9°, 31%, 40%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(35, 19, 22°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color taupe brown is a very dark shade of tan that almost appears brown and is displayed adjacent.

This is the color shown as the color taupe brown in ISCC-NBS color sample #46.

Taupe Beige

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Taupe Beige
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#927C66
sRGBB (r, g, b)(146, 124, 102)
HSV (h, s, v)(30°, 30%, 57%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(53, 24, 51°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color Taupe Beige color offers a palette of natural and warm colours.

This is the color shown as the color taupe brown in ISCC-NBS color sample #46.

Another name for this color is medium taupe.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b St. Clair, Kassia (2016). The Secret Lives of Colour. London: John Murray. pp. 256–257. ISBN 9781473630819. OCLC 936144129.
  2. ^ "Fashions for January". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. Vol. IV, no. 196. New South Wales. 20 May 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Theatricals". The Australian. Vol. III, no. 492. New South Wales. 21 May 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "taupe". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) (subscription required)
  5. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill p. 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, p. 183.
  6. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, p. 183; Color Sample of Taupe: p. 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A6
  7. ^ Oxford English Dictionary; citing the Daily Colonist of Victoria, British Columbia, dated 5 April 1911.
  8. ^ "ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Colo(u)r Names (1955)". tx4.us. Archived from the original on 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  9. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 199; Color Sample of Mouse: p. 53 Plate 15 Color Sample C6
  10. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 203; Color Sample of Mauve Taupe p. 37 Plate 7 Color Sample C8
  11. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 202; color sample of Raspberry Glacé: p. 31 Plate 4 Color Sample F4
  12. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 203; Color Sample of Rose Taupe p. 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A4
  13. ^ Type the words "Deep Taupe" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color will appear.
  14. ^ Pantone. "Find a Pantone Color – Quick Online Color Tool". www.pantone.com.
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