What is "isabelline"

Isabelline \Is`a*bel"line\, a. Of an isabel or isabella color.

a. Of an isabel or isabella colour.

Isabelline may refer to:

• Isabelline (colour), a pale grey-yellowish or parchment colour—an off-white colour often used to describe animals
• Isabelline bush-hen (Amaurornis isabellina), also isabelline waterhen, a large rail
• Isabelline Gothic, or Isabelline, a late medieval architectural style developed under the reign of Isabella I of Castile
• Isabelline shrike (Lanius isabellinus), member of the shrike family (Laniidae)
• Isabelline Style (15th century) see Plateresque
• Isabelline wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina), small passerine bird
• Parties and factions in Isabelline Spain

Isabelline , also known as isabella, is a pale grey-yellow, pale fawn, pale cream-brown or parchment colour. It is primarily found in animal coat colouring, particularly plumage colour in birds and, in Europe, in horses. It also has historically been applied to fashion. The first known record of the word was in 1600 as "isabella colour"; this use later became interchangeable in literature with "isabelline" after the latter was introduced into print in 1859. The origin of the word is unclear; the uncertainty prompted by this has generated several attempts to provide an etymology and led to one prominent legend.