Borrowed from Middle Low German brūn and (perhaps) Middle Dutch bruun. This term was probably introduced in the 15th century, together with brown-colored clothes, very appreciated at the time. It is, however, not mentioned in dictionaries until the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century (some sources claim that brown-colored clothes were not frequent in Latvia until the 18th century). Previously, the notion of brown color was expressed only with ruds (for hair, eyes) and bērs (for horses).