English
roan
Roan comes from Middle French roan.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600roan
- Englishearliest quotation 1882same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600roan
- Englishearliest quotation 1882same form
Earliest quotation: 1882, Leo de Colange, The American Encyclopaedia of Commerce: “Roan, a kind of leather used for shoes, slippers,…”
The story
From Middle French roan, probably from Spanish roano, from Old Spanish raudano, itself probably of Germanic origin (compare Gothic *𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (*raudan), accusative of 𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (rauþs, “red”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- ‘red’
red, ruby, rust, reddish, russel, ruddy, redness, rouse, rubric, corroborate, rowan, roux, rubella, russet, rufous, erythema, rud, ruddock, robusta, 34 more
Today it means
adj Having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French roan / roan