beige en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈbed͡ʒ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈbeɪʒ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈbeɪd͡ʒ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈbeiʒ/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
- /ˈbɛjd͡ʒ/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈbæɪd͡ʒ/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- (US) audio
- /ˈbæɪʒ/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- /ˈbɛjʒ/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈbeid͡ʒ/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
- /ˈbeʒ/ (Scotland)
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French (dialectal) beige, from Old French bege (“color of undyed wool or cotton”), from an Alpine language (compare Franco-Provençal bézho, Romansch besch (“dull grey”)), from Vulgar Latin *bysseus (“cottony grey”) (compare French bis, Catalan bis, Italian bigio), from Late Latin byssus (“cotton”), from Ancient Greek βύσσος (bússos, “cotton homespun”), from Semitic (compare Hebrew/Aramaic בוץ (būṣ)). Doublet of bice.
Meanings
-
Having a slightly yellowish gray colour, as that of unbleached wool.
Mr. Lauwaert of Sony said he realized that most consumers were not going to buy computers that cost far more than discount beige boxes.
2006 November 23, Michel Marriott, “When Beige Won’t Do”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:Dagobert had only one customer, an American who wore square, rimless glasses and a beige suit and looked like a Wall Street tycoon.
1956, Delano Ames, chapter 24, in Crime out of Mind:
-
(informal) Comfortably dull and unadventurous, in a way that suggests middle-class suburbia.
He has no criminal record. He has no traffic tickets. His social media posts are just like... he's beige.
2016, Penelope Garcia, “The Witness”, in Criminal Minds, season 11, episode 2:In the beigest parts of suburbia where I grew up, bridge was a game played by groups of parents in recreation rooms furnished with upright pianos and souvenir sombreros.
2010, Gerald J. McCarthy, A Man of Substances:Think about it: he grew up in Iowa, the beigest of states, was doted on, loved generously by his parents, the top of his class, probably voted Most Handsome of 2000.
2007, Prairie L. Markussen, Cover, page 48:For a meal of relentlessly beige food, may I suggest the beigest of wines? That would be chardonnay, which will go beautifully with Melissa Clark’s chicken potpie.
2013 March 25, Eric Asimov, “A Beige Wine for a Beige Meal”, in NYT Diner’s Journal Blog:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most beige | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more beige | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| beigest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| beiger | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
beigist · beige fat · beigey · sad beige · beigely · beigeish · beigeist · beige prose · beige flag · beige box · Beige Book · beigeness · beiging
Synonyms
bland · indistinct · bland · colorless · drab · tedious
Translations (32)
ca beix (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · cmn 米黃 /米黄 (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ko 베이지 (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · es beige (beish) (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · cy llwydfelyn (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · hu bézs (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · acw بيج (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ro bej (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ga béasa (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · it bigio (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · bg бе́жов (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · mk бе́жов (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · cy lliw gwlanen (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · de beige (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ko 베이지색 (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ja ベージュ (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · lou bèj (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · fi beesi (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · gl beixe (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ar بِيج (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · fr beige (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · af beige (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ms kuning air (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · ru бе́жевый (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · pt bege (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · kk сарғыш (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · la cēreus (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · pl beż (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · cmn 米色 (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · es beis (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · cs béžový (having a slightly yellowish gray colour) · pl beżowy (having a slightly yellowish gray colour)