adjective / noun
roan
ROHN/rəʊn/
An animal with white hairs mixed into a colored coat, or having such a coat.
White and chestnut hairs mingle across the horse's roan coat.
Etymology
The French ancestor meant “reddish brown.” In English, the word came to describe a horse’s coat with colored hairs thickly interspersed with white or gray, making the mixture the defining feature.
In context
on a great roan horse bearing the banner of Ploermel
More examples
- White hairs mingled through the mare's roan coat.
- The rider selected the sturdy roan.
- The cattle included several red roans.
Forms
roan · roans
Similar words
- dappled
- Dappled has visible spots or patches; roan has white and colored hairs intermingled.
- piebald
- Piebald has distinct black and white patches rather than roan's mixed hairs.