roan

R1O1A1N1
UK/ɹəʊn/US/ɹoʊn/US/ˈɹoʊ.ən//ˈɹoʊn/

adjective

Having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in.

“roan binding”

Less commonScrabble 4

Meanings

roan1

adjectiveroan (not comparable)
  1. especiallynot comparableHaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in.
  2. not comparableMade of roan (kind of leather).

    roan binding

nounroan (plural roans)

plural roans

  1. An animal (such as a horse) that has a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in.
    1 more example

    I crawled my way into The Doom Saloon / In an attempt to cauterize my wounds / I did a terrible job and they became powerfully infected / I found myself atop a stolen roan / Quite convinced that I would never see home / And all on account of my lack of common manners / I prayed for courage, I prayed for love / I prayed for guidance from the heavens above / I prayed to know divine protections / But now I'm praying for a quick death in Texas

    2015 October 2, Clutch, “A Quick Death in Texas”, in Psychic Warfare (Hard Rock, Stoner Rock), performed by Clutch, [United States]: Weathermaker Music, →OCLC
  2. The color of such an animal.
  3. A kind of leather used for slippers, bookbinding, etc., made from sheepskin, tanned with sumac and colored to imitate ungrained morocco.

    Roan, a kind of leather used for shoes, slippers, and common bookbinding; prepared from sheep skins by tanning with sumach.

    1882, Leo de Colange, The American Encyclopaedia of Commerce, Manufactures, Commercial Law, and Finance, volume 2

roan2

nounroan (plural roans)

plural roans

  1. archaicArchaic form of rowan (“kind of tree”).

Roan3

proper noun
  1. A surname.

    Mrs. Roan was 26 years old, in good health, kept her house, and was faithful in the discharge of her duties as a wife.

    1922, The Southwestern Reporter, volume 241, page 251
    1 more example

    Explaining the Kamalanomenon (another Chappell Roan reference) is part of Jessica Maddox’s job. […] She spent Sunday evening telling her husband, “because I’m like, 10 days on the internet ahead of him,” about the significance of the coconut tree, which has been a thing for weeks now.

    2024 July 23, Maura Judkis, Jesús Rodríguez, “The Kamala Harris meme decoders have entered the chat”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 23 Jul 2024

Synonyms & antonyms

adjective(used of especially horses) having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or grey

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Spanishraudano
  2. Spanishroano
  3. Middle Frenchroan
  4. Englishroan

From Middle French roan, probably from Spanish roano, from Old Spanish raudano, itself probably of Germanic origin (compare Gothic *𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (*raudan), accusative of 𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (rauþs, “red”). Compare rowan.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans skimmel, skimmel
  • skimmelhaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • skimmelcolor
  • skimmelanimal
Bulgarian шарен, дорест
  • шарен (šaren)having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • дорест (dorest)having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
Catalan ruà
  • ruàhaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
Czech prokvetlý, tisák
  • prokvetlýhaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • tisákanimal
Esperanto ruana
  • ruanahaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
Estonian kimmel, kimmel
  • kimmelhaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • kimmelcolor
  • kimmelanimal
Finnish päistärikkö, päistärikkö
  • päistärikköhaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • päistärikköanimal
French rouan, rouan
  • rouanhaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • rouananimal
Hungarian aranyderes, deres
  • aranydereshaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • dereshaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • deresanimal
Italian rabicano, roano
  • rabicanohaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • roanohaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • rovanohaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • roanocolor
  • roanoanimal
Latvian salns, salnis
  • salnshaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • salnisanimal
Portuguese ruão
  • ruãohaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
Russian чалый
  • чалый (čalyj)having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
Spanish roano, roano
  • roanohaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
  • roanoanimal
  • rosilloanimal
  • sabinoanimal
Welsh broc
  • brochaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with roan

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

roan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roan

MLA

“roan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roan. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “roan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roan.

Source: roan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.