Word of the Day for Friday, September 14, 2012

ecru \EK-roo\,
adjective:
1. Very light brown in color, as raw silk, unbleached linen, etc.
noun:
1. An ecru color.

To complete the outfit, she selected an ecru cashmere sweater to drape over her shoulders and tie loosely around her neck.
-- Pamela Hackett Hobson, "The Bronxville Book Club"

She was wearing an ecru gown, giving the illusion of her fading into the grayness of the wall.
-- JoAnn Smith Ainsworth, "Out of the Dark"

Ecru stems from the French word of the same spelling which meant "raw, unbleached." It came from the Latin root crudus meaning "raw" and the prefix es- meaning "thoroughly."

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