The word “russet” is often employed to evoke a warm, earthy hue that carries both a tactile and symbolic resonance in literature. It appears as a descriptor for everyday garments—a russet jumper, jerkin, cloak, or gown—that situates characters in humble or natural settings [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. At the same time, russet colors richly color the natural world, from the fading greens of fields turning into autumnal landscapes to the delicate blush on fruits and even the atmospheric glow of dawn on distant hills [7, 8, 9, 10]. In some contexts, the term deepens the portrayal of a character’s rugged or timeworn nature, as seen in depictions of weathered exteriors and familiar rural surroundings [11, 12]. Through these uses, russet embodies both the simplicity of rustic life and the intricate interplay of nature and humanity.
- She still had her russet jumper, but round her neck hung a grey wool scarf, of the kind known as a "comforter."
— from Huntingtower by John Buchan
- We must be neat all: On goes my russet jerkin with blue buttons.
— from Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, Vol. 05 of 10 by John Fletcher
- The Jew's dress, which appeared to have suffered considerably from the storm, was a plain russet cloak of many folds, covering a dark purple tunic.
— from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott
- And yet a russet gown, torn and soiled with the child's rude play, made a picture of her just as perfect.
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- She clad herself in a russet gown, She was no longer Lady Clare:
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson
- A tall big man, sir; he goes in a cloak most commonly of silk-russet, laid about with russet lace.
— from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson
- The green splendours of the lawn had faded into a yellow lustre; the flowery verdure of the fields was changed to a russet hue.
— from Alida; or, Miscellaneous Sketches of Incidents During the Late American War.
Founded on Fact by Amelia Stratton Comfield
- The rosal glow of dawn tipped the mountains, and a russet haze lay on the still bosom of the lake.
— from Half a Rogue by Harold MacGrath
- ("Give me first the russet apple, And the hard white fruit of Auvergne.")
— from Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period by P. L. Jacob
- And we must contrive to get a peck of russet apples, late in the season as it is.
— from The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- They still stood there; but they were quite russet and weather-stained, as if they had stood for centuries.
— from A Miscellany of Men by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
- Larger than largest bull, it had a coat of long and russet fur, a whitish neck and head, which bristled with a pile of horns.
— from Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende: A Tale of the Times of King Arthur by Mary-Lafon, Jean Bernard Lafon, called