Drab Was Named After Undyed Cloth
Drab means dull and colourless. The word named a plain brown fabric before it named a mood.
Drab means dull, dreary and lacking colour. It began as the name of an undyed woollen cloth of a dull brownish colour, from French *drap*, cloth — the same word behind *drapery* and *draper*. Because the fabric was the cheapest available and never dyed, its name became a byword for anything colourless. *Olive drab* is still the official name of a military colour, keeping the original use as a shade rather than a judgement.
- Dull and colourless. *A drab room.*
- A dull brown cloth. *Drab cloth.*
- Olive drab — a military colour. *Olive drab.*
- Drapery — the same root. *Drapery.*
- French — *drap*, cloth. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | drab | Drab. |
| Noun | drab | Olive drab. |
| Adverb | drably | Drably. |
| Noun | drabness | Drabness. |
| Related | drapery | Drapery. |
- The office was grey and drab.Dullness.
- Uniforms in olive drab.Colour.
- It began as undyed cloth.Etymology.
Colours named from cloth
- Drab — an undyed dull brown wool
- Khaki — from Urdu, meaning dust-coloured
- Denim — from *de Nîmes*, the French town
- Jean — from Genoa, where the fabric was made
- Russet — a coarse reddish-brown homespun
From French *drap*, cloth, originally naming an undyed woollen fabric of dull brown colour.
Was drab always a criticism?
No. It named a specific undyed brown cloth. Because that fabric was plain and cheap, its name came to mean dull.
What is olive drab?
A dull green-brown military colour, keeping the older use of drab as a shade rather than a judgement.