Ecru
Color of unbleached linen or silk
Ecru (/ˈɛkruː/ EK-roo, or /ˈeɪkruː/ AY-kroo) is a grayish yellow or cream colour. It initially indicated the colour of unbleached linen (approximately #FEFEE0 ), and some English dictionaries still define it this way. However, over the years, it has also come to be used for a much darker color.
Ecru comes from the French word écru for the color of unbleached linen, and the word means "raw, unbleached" in French. It has also been known as "the colour of silk".
Traditionally, ecru was considered a shade of beige. Beginning in the 19th century it became more precisely defined as "a grayish yellow that is greener and paler than chamois or old ivory".
The normalized colour coordinates for ecru are identical to sand, which was first recorded as a colour name in English in 1627.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ecru”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- LeicesterFronteiriza.jpg by Xabier Cid, Public domain
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