Auburn (color)
Encyclopedia
Auburn may be described as hair that is of a reddish-brown color. The word "auburn" comes from the Old French
word alborne, which meant blond
, coming from Latin word alburnus ("off-white"). The first recorded use of auburn in English
was in 1430. The word was sometimes corrupted into abram, for example in early (pre-1685) folios of Coriolanus
, Thomas Kyd
's Soliman and Perseda (1588) and Thomas Middleton
's Blurt, Master Constable
(1601).
The chemical pigments that cause the coloration of auburn hair are frequently pheomelanin with high levels of brown eumelanin. Auburn hair is reasonably common among people of northern and western European descent, but it is rare elsewhere.
dish brown
color
similar to chestnut
, though auburn is more on the red side while chestnut on the brown. The two are sometimes used interchangeably, but auburn hair is more pigmented, and chestnut hair is often referred to as "chestnut brown". In describing hair color, "auburn" is frequently misused as a synonym for darker shades of red hair
, such as "titian".
On the right is displayed the color auburn. This shade of auburn represents the color of people's hair that is most vivid.
Auburn hair occurs most frequently in the phenotypes originating in Northern Europe
for example, Scandinavia
, Ireland
, England
, Scotland
, Germany
, the Benelux
countries, France
, Poland
, and Russia
. This hair color is rare further south and southeast, but can occur in Southern Europe
and North Africa
, Lebanon
, west Syria
, Palestinian territories
, Jordan
, Northern Iran
, Central Iran
, and sometimes Central Asia
. Because of migration from Europe
from the 16th to the 20th centuries, it can also be found in other parts of the world such as North America
, South America
, Australia
, New Zealand
, South Africa
, Siberia
, etc. This hair color is also dominant in Australia, Canada and the United States among descendants of the Northern European (British, German, Scandinavian, Polish, and Russian) immigrants. Auburn hair is also found in smaller numbers in Latin America, especially southern Brazil, Argentina and Chile. In Argentina and Chile, today, auburn hair is quite common but it was very rare at the time of Independence from Spain. Auburn hair in Latin America is common among descendants of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Northern European (German, Scandinavian, British, Polish, and Russian) immigrants. This color is sometimes seen among the indigenous people
of Formosa
, but not the later Han Chinese
immigrants.
Auburn hair is mostly associated with a fair complexion and light eye color
s (blue, gray, green, and hazel). However, there are many auburn-haired people with brown eyes.
In the 21st Century United States of America
, the color that was chosen by the American Council on Education
(ACE) to represent such fields of learning as forestry
, environmental studies
, and natural resource management
is called, "russet
," but in actual practice, colleges, universities, and suppliers of academic regalia use a very similar tint of "auburn" color.
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
word alborne, which meant blond
Blond
Blond or blonde or fair-hair is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color...
, coming from Latin word alburnus ("off-white"). The first recorded use of auburn in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was in 1430. The word was sometimes corrupted into abram, for example in early (pre-1685) folios of Coriolanus
Coriolanus (play)
Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus.-Characters:*Caius Martius, later surnamed Coriolanus...
, Thomas Kyd
Thomas Kyd
Thomas Kyd was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama....
's Soliman and Perseda (1588) and Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
's Blurt, Master Constable
Blurt, Master Constable
Blurt, Master Constable is a late Elizabethan comedy, interesting for the authorship problem it presents.The play is subtitled "The Spaniards' Night Walk," and an allusion to the Spanish in Ireland in the play's final scene — there was a Spanish raid on Ireland in September 1601 — helps...
(1601).
The chemical pigments that cause the coloration of auburn hair are frequently pheomelanin with high levels of brown eumelanin. Auburn hair is reasonably common among people of northern and western European descent, but it is rare elsewhere.
Color
The color auburn is a redRed
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
dish brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
color
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
similar to chestnut
Chestnut (color)
Chestnut, also known as Indian red, is a color, a medium brownish shade of red, and is named after the nut of the chestnut tree.As Indian red, it is named after the red laterite soil found in India. It is thus an earth tone as well as a red. It is composed of naturally occurring iron oxides. Other...
, though auburn is more on the red side while chestnut on the brown. The two are sometimes used interchangeably, but auburn hair is more pigmented, and chestnut hair is often referred to as "chestnut brown". In describing hair color, "auburn" is frequently misused as a synonym for darker shades of red hair
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
, such as "titian".
Auburn
On the right is displayed the color auburn. This shade of auburn represents the color of people's hair that is most vivid.
Auburn in human culture
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
for example, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
countries, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. This hair color is rare further south and southeast, but can occur in Southern Europe
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, west Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Northern Iran
Northern Iran
Northern Iran includes the Southern Caspian regions representing provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan of Iran ....
, Central Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and sometimes Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Because of migration from Europe
Emigration from Europe
Emigration from Europe began on a large scale during the European colonial empires of the 17th to 19th centuries. This concerns especially the Spanish Empire in the 16th to 17th centuries , the British Empire in the 18th to 19th centuries , the Portuguese Empire and the Russian Empire in the 19th...
from the 16th to the 20th centuries, it can also be found in other parts of the world such as North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, etc. This hair color is also dominant in Australia, Canada and the United States among descendants of the Northern European (British, German, Scandinavian, Polish, and Russian) immigrants. Auburn hair is also found in smaller numbers in Latin America, especially southern Brazil, Argentina and Chile. In Argentina and Chile, today, auburn hair is quite common but it was very rare at the time of Independence from Spain. Auburn hair in Latin America is common among descendants of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Northern European (German, Scandinavian, British, Polish, and Russian) immigrants. This color is sometimes seen among the indigenous people
Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
of Formosa
Formosa
Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
, but not the later Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
immigrants.
Auburn hair is mostly associated with a fair complexion and light eye color
Eye color
Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic character and is determined by two distinct factors: the pigmentation of the eye's iris and the frequency-dependence of the scattering of light by the turbid medium in the stroma of the iris....
s (blue, gray, green, and hazel). However, there are many auburn-haired people with brown eyes.
In the 21st Century United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the color that was chosen by the American Council on Education
American Council on Education
The American Council on Education is a United States organization, established in 1918, comprising over 1,800 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education-related associations, organizations, and corporations....
(ACE) to represent such fields of learning as forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, environmental studies
Environmental studies
Environmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them...
, and natural resource management
Natural resource management
Natural resource management refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations ....
is called, "russet
Russet (color)
Russet is a dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge.The first recorded use of russet as a color name in English was in 1562.The source of this color is the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names --Color dictionary used by stamp collectors to identify the colors of stampsThe name of the color...
," but in actual practice, colleges, universities, and suppliers of academic regalia use a very similar tint of "auburn" color.