Russet is a reddish-brown color, like the warm tones you see in autumn leaves, old bricks, or certain potatoes. The word describes something between brown and red, with an earthy, natural quality. When writers describe a russet sunset, they mean one filled with deep oranges, browns, and reds.

The most familiar use today is probably the russet potato, a large brown potato with rough skin that's perfect for baking or making French fries. Its skin has that characteristic reddish-brown color that gave the variety its name.

In older times, russet also referred to a coarse, homespun cloth that poor people wore, typically dyed in these same brownish tones using natural dyes. Shakespeare wrote about characters wearing russet, meaning simple, practical clothing rather than fancy garments.

A russet apple has a rough, brownish skin quite different from a shiny red apple, but it tastes just as good. When poets describe russet fields in fall or russet fur on a fox, they're capturing that distinctive warm brown-red shade that appears so often in nature.