Taupe

This box shows the color taupe.
 

Taupe refers to a dark grayish-brown color. The word "taupe" derives from the Latin name for the European Mole, Talpa europaea.

Originally, this referred only to the average color of the French mole, but like the colors pink and lavender, the name expanded (in the case of taupe beginning in the 1940s) to encompass a wide range of varying shades. It seems that this occurred because the color of the fur of the mole can itself be a wide range of shades, from gray through yellowish, brownish, and even purplish.

The first use of taupe as a color name in English was in the early 1800s (exact year is not known).

Meaning of taupe

Tones of taupe color comparison chart

Name Color HEX Code Source Red Green Blue Hue Sat Lum
Taupe Beige #EBC2AF 235 194 175 019° 60% 80%
Taos Taupe #BFAA80 (Pantone TPX 15-1119) 191 170 128 040° 33% 63%
Pale Taupe #BC987E (www.99colors.net) (Mouse) 188 152 126 025° 32% 62%
Light Taupe #B38B6D (Taupe (Crayola colored pencils)) 179 139 109 026° 32% 56%
Warm Taupe #B29784 (Pantone TPX 16-1318) 178 151 132 025° 23% 61%
Pastel Taupe #AF9E89 (Light Taupe (Pantone TPX 16-1210)) 175 158 137 033° 19% 61%
Simply Taupe #ABA092 (Pantone TPX 16-0906) 71 100 146 034° 13% 62%
Plaza Taupe #A79E8B (Pantone TPX 16-1105) 167 158 139 041° 14% 60%
Perfect Taupe #A99F95 (Resene color list) 169 159 149 030° 10% 62%
Desert Taupe #A18178 (Pantone TPX 17-1311) 161 129 120 013° 18% 55%
Sandy Taupe #967117 (ISCC-NBS) 150 113 23 043° 73% 34%
Taupe Gray #8B8589 (ISCC-NBS) 139 133 137 320° 3% 53%
Medium Taupe Gray #88786A (Taupe Gray (Pantone TPX 17-8080)) 136 120 106 028° 12% 47%
Rose Taupe #905D5D (ISCC-NBS) 144 93 93 000° 22% 46%
Mauve Taupe #915F6D (ISCC-NBS) 145 95 109 343° 21% 47%
Deep Rose Taupe #7E5E60 (Rose Taupe (Pantone TPX 18-1612)) 126 94 96 356° 15% 43%
Deep Taupe #715F6D (Pantone TPX 18-1312) 113 92 86 313° 009% 41%
Taupe Brown #674C47 ISCC-NBS (Medium Taupe) 103 76 71 009° 18% 34%
Purple Taupe #504040 (www.99colors.net) 80 64 77 000° 11% 28%
Taupe #483C32 (ISCC-NBS) (Taupe (Maerz and Paul))(Dark Taupe) 72 60 50 027° 18% 24%
French Taupe #463F32 (Taupe (pourpre.com)) 70 63 50 039° 17% 24%

References

  1. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 205; Discussion of the color Taupe, Page 183
  2. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, Page 183; Color Sample of Taupe: Page 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A6