brown /brown/

1. Of a dark, woody or dusky colour, tending towards red or yellow
2. Dark-complexioned
3. Tanned or sunburnt
4. Formerly conventionally applied to a sword, perh burnished, perh rusty, perh bloodstained

1. A dark-reddish earthy or woody colour
2. A brown pigment
3. A brown object or thing
4. A copper coin (obs sl)
5. A close-flying number of game birds, esp (lit and figurative) fire into the brown to shoot into an area without aiming at a particular target

1. To give a brown colour to
2. To roast until brown

To become brown

brownˈie noun

1. A benevolent creature who may secretly help with domestic work (folklore)
2. (with cap; in full Brownie Guide) a member of the senior of two junior sections of the Guides, having a brown (since 1990 yellow) uniform
3. (a square piece of) a kind of rich, chewy chocolate cake containing nuts (orig N American)
4. A simple, early, mass-produced make of box camera (also Brownˈie®)
5. A kind of currant bread (Aust and NZ)

brownˈing noun

1. The process of making or becoming brown
2. A product for making gravy, etc brown

brownˈish adjective

brownˈness noun

brownˈy adjective

Of a brownish colour

brown ale noun

A dark-coloured mild beer

brown algae or brown seaweeds plural noun

The Phaeophyceae, one of the main divisions of the algae

brown-bagˈ transitive verb and intransitive verb (US)

To bring (one's lunch, or alcohol) in a brown paper bag or something similar

brown bear noun

The common bear of Europe and Asia

brown Bess noun

The old British flintlock musket (from its brown walnut stock)

Brown Betty noun (US)

A baked pudding containing apples and other fruit

brown bill noun

A foot soldier's or watchman's halberd, painted brown

brown bread noun

Any dark-coloured bread, esp that made of unbolted flour, eg wholemeal

adjective (rhyming sl)

Dead

brown coal noun

Lignite

brown dwarf see dwarf

brown earth noun

A type of soil with a rich brown surface layer, formed under deciduous forest in temperate humid regions

brown fat noun

Heat-producing fat cells of a brownish colour, found in various parts of the body, eg between the shoulder-blades, thought to be activated by overeating and thus to have a bearing on weight gain

brownˈfield adjective

Denoting a site that has previously been developed for urban or industrial use (cf greenfield)

brown George noun

1. A hard biscuit
2. A brown earthenware vessel

brown goods plural noun (commercial jargon)

A term covering types of electrical equipment orig wooden-cased, such as audio and TV (as opposed to traditionally white kitchen appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines)

Brownie Guide see brownie above.

Brownie Guider see brown owl below.

brownie point noun (sometimes ironic, usu in pl)

A notional good mark or commendation for doing well

brown lung (disease) noun

Byssinosis

brownˈ-nose transitive verb and intransitive verb (vulgar sl)

To act obsequiously (towards), curry favour (with)

noun

An extremely obsequious person (also brownˈ-noser)

brownˈout noun (esp US)

A reduction in electrical power, etc, a partial blackout

brown owl noun

1. The tawny owl
2. (with caps; now correctly Brownie Guider) the former official, now the popular, name for a woman who has charge of a group of Brownies

brown paper noun

Coarse strong paper used chiefly for wrapping

brown rat noun

The larger and commoner of the two British rats (often black)

brown rice noun

Rice hulled but not polished

brown rot noun

Any of several plant diseases causing browning

brown sauce noun

Any brown-coloured savoury sauce, now esp a sharp-flavoured commercially bottled variety

brown seaweeds see brown algae above.

• Peta
• petaflop
• petaflops
• petal
• petaliferous
• petaline
• petalism
• petalisms
• petalled
• petalodies
• petalody
• petaloid
• petalomania
• petalomanias
• petalous
• petals
• petar
• petara
• petaras
• petard
• petards
• petaries
• petary
• petasus
• petasuses