Taupe (/ˈtoʊp/ TOHP) is a dark grayish-brown color. The word comes from the French name taupe, meaning “mole.” The name originally referred only to the medium French taupe color, but starting in the 1940s its use expanded to include a wider range of shades. Mole is an imprecise color term that can refer to almost any gray or brownish-gray color, but a true mole is difficult to identify as brown or gray. According to the Dictionary of Color, “taupe” was first used as a color name in English in the early 19th century; However, the oldest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1911. In 1846 it stated that “all shades of gray are in fashion, especially pearl grey, iron gray and brown”.