Taupe ( TOHP) is a dark gray-brown color. The word derives from the French noun taupe meaning "mole". The name originally referred only to the average color of the French mole, but beginning in the 1940s, its usage expanded to encompass a wider range of shades.

Taupe is a vague color term which may refer to almost any grayish brown or brownish gray, but true taupe is difficult to pinpoint as brown or gray.

According to the Dictionary of Color, the first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century; but the earliest citation recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1911. In 1846 it was claimed that "All shades of grey are fashionable en neglige, particularly pearl grey, iron grey, and taupe."