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ecru

ecru

3 8.2
A very light brown color that looks like natural linen
  • noun
  • /ˈɛkru/
translation icon : ecru
  • He painted the living room in a warm ecru shade to create a cozy atmosphere.
  • ecru silk
  • ecru satin
  • ecru linen

Examples

  • I see instead the delicate band of ecru lace around her throat and the hint of lace at her wrists.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Came in a choice of either ecru or white and a choice of two fonts.

    Blog text (13)
  • "Colors that work best are black, gray, ecru, and navy.

    Blog text (18)
  • Should you observe something that you want, purchase this in white or ecru.

    Blog text (11)
  • Mark, it was all grays, not silver or ecru.

    Blog text (26)
  • The outside is sleek, ecru wood panels set off by crisp black shutters.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Lily glanced at a box of ecru envelopes lined with tissue paper.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • This month's challenge is to create a project using hues of white (i.e., white, ecru, cream, off-white, etc.).

    Blog text (23)
  • There was an organ in front of the bay window, and delicate ecru lace curtains of the finest quality billowed in a stray breeze around the polished instrument.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I'm taking a floor-length brown A-line skirt from the thrift store and putting an ecru band around it, about 6 inches above the hem, then painting hieroglyphics all around the band.

    Blog text (27)

Synonyms

beige
vsecru
17 1.0

A pale light brown colour often used for walls or clothes

is paler and more neutral, resembling unbleached linen rather than tinted

Antonyms

1.0

Very dark in color like coal or the night

How Light

off-white
1 3.0
ecru
3 8.2
beige
17 1.0
tan
30 1.0
brown
52 1.0

Surface Forms

ecru singular
ecrus plural

Etymology

Ecru comes from French écru, a word that meant 'raw' or 'unbleached' cloth, so picture the natural colour of linen. That's why ecru today means a pale, light-brown or beige shade like unbleached fabric.