Drab (color)

Drab is a dull light-brown color, the color of undyed wool cloth of the same name.

Drab is a dull, light-brown color.[1] It originally took its name from a fabric of the same color made of undyed, homespun wool. The word was first used in English in 1686.[2] It probably originated from the Old French word drap, which meant cloth.[1] In 1897 the Sears catalog listed household paint colors including drab, light drab, Quaker drab, and olive drab.[3]

By 1921, the color Drab was associated with potential, clairvoyance, instinct, precocity, and genius.[4] The normalized color coordinates for drab are identical to sand dune, mode beige and bistre brown, which were first recorded as color names in English, respectively, in 1925,[5] 1928,[6] and 1930.[7]

The word gradually came to mean dull, lifeless, or monotonous.

Drab (cloth)

Drab was a term used for cloths with specific colors such as dull browns, yellowish or gray. The Drab of heavy woolen was produced in Yorkshire, England. It was a thick, sturdy structure used for overcoating.[8][9]

In military uniforms

Several shades of drab have been used for military uniforms, including the above-mentioned light-brown color. The greenish shades of drab, known as olive drab, were used as the colors of the U.S. Army uniforms and equipment during World War II.

References

  1. 1 2 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. 1982.
  2. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 194
  3. ↑ Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue. 1897. p. 21.
  4. ↑ Grumbine, J. C. F. (1921). Psychology of color. Cleveland, O.: The Order of the white rose. p. 30.
  5. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 204; Color Sample of Sand Dune: Page 47 Plate 14 Color Sample B5
  6. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 199
  7. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill Page 53 Plate 15 Color Sample C9
  8. ↑ Fairchild's dictionary of textiles. New York: Fairchild Publications. 1959. p. 189.
  9. ↑ ltd, Chambers W. and R. (1867). Chambers's etymological dictionary of the English language, ed. by J. Donald. p. 140.
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