Cain-coloured Beard
Preserved but no longer current.
Yellowish, or sandy red, symbolic of treason. In the ancient tapestries Cain and Judas are represented with yellow beards; but it is well to note that in the extract below the word, in some editions, is printed "ca«£-coloured." See YELLOW.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cain-coloured Beard” mean?
Yellowish, or sandy red, symbolic of treason. In the ancient tapestries Cain and Judas are represented with yellow beards; but it is well to note that in the extract below the word, in some editions, is printed "ca«£-coloured." See YELLOW.
Is “Cain-coloured Beard” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.