Taupe

dark brown color between brown and gray
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,[1] 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). [2]

Meaning of taupe

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Tones of taupe color comparison chart

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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%
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References

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  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