Meaning

noun a soft sheepskin leather that is colored and finished to resemble morocco; used in bookbinding

noun a horse having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or gray

adjective (used of especially horses) having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or grey

originFrom Middle French roan, probably from Spanish roano, from Old Spanish raudano, itself probably of Germanic origin (compare Gothic *𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (*raudan), accusative of 𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (rauþs, “red”). Compare rowan.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0