roan
roan Lexical Profile
roan Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having a coat of a base color, such as bay, chestnut, or black, evenly intermingled with white or gray hairs (especially of a horse, cow, or dog).
"The rancher rode a sturdy roan mare across the open pasture."
• noun
An animal, especially a horse or cow, whose coat has a base color of bay, chestnut, or black evenly mixed with white or gray hairs.
"The stable master led the gentle roan out into the paddock for morning exercise."
A coat color in horses, cattle, and dogs consisting of a dark base color evenly interspersed with white hairs.
"Because the foal's coat was a striking blue roan, it stood out among the solid-colored horses."
A soft, flexible sheepskin leather tanned with sumac and colored to imitate unsplit morocco leather, traditionally used in bookbinding.
"The antique ledger was bound in crimson roan that had worn smooth at the corners."
• Rhymes for roan
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the mid-16th century, borrowed from Middle French 'rouen' and Spanish 'roano', of uncertain ultimate origin; the leather sense likely derives from the French city of Rouen, where such sheepskin was historically prepared.