roan Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a soft sheepskin leather that is colored and finished to resemble morocco; used in bookbinding
  2. noun a horse having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or gray
  3. adjective satellite (used of especially horses) having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or grey
    • a roan horse

WordNet

Roan adjective
Etymology
F. rouan; cf. Sp. roano, ruano, It. rovano, roano.
Definitions
  1. Having a bay, chestnut, brown, or black color, with gray or white thickly interspersed; -- said of a horse.
    Give my roan a drench. Shak.
  2. Made of the leather called roan; as, roan binding.
Roan noun
Definitions
  1. The color of a roan horse; a roan color.
  2. A roan horse.
  3. A kind of leather used for slippers, bookbinding, etc., made from sheepskin, tanned with sumac and colored to imitate ungrained morocco. DeColange.

Webster 1913