*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ecru

Etymology tree French é- French cru French écrubor. English ecru Borrowed from French écru (“raw, unbleached”).

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

Of a beige colour.

noun

A beige colour.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree French é- French cru French écrubor. English ecru Borrowed from French écru (“raw, unbleached”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:écru<t:raw, unbleached>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nFrench é-\nFrench cru\nFrench écrubor.\nEnglish ecru\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"raw, unbleached\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"é-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"cru\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"écru\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"ecru\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"ecru\">\nBorrowed from French écru (“raw, unbleached”)."
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nFrench é-\nFrench cru\nFrench écrubor.\nEnglish ecru\nBorrowed from French écru (“raw, unbleached”)."
    }
  ],
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    ],
    [
      "cru",
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    ],
    [
      "écru",
      "écru#French"
    ],
    [
      "écru",
      "écru#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of a beige colour."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 341106
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A beige colour."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ecru →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZWNydQ