'other-than-brown' is a modern compound formed from the comparative construction 'other than' + the adjective 'brown'. 'Other' originates from Old English 'oðer' where the root meant 'second, different'; 'than' is from Old English comparative particles such as 'þonne/þæn'; 'brown' originates from Old English 'brūn' meaning 'brown, dark'.

'other' changed from Old English 'oðer' to Middle English 'other' and then to modern English 'other'; 'than' has been used in comparative constructions since Old and Middle English; 'brown' evolved from Old English 'brūn' through Middle English to modern 'brown'. The hyphenated compound 'other-than-brown' is a recent descriptive formation in modern English.

Initially, the roots 'other' and 'brown' had the senses 'different/second' and 'dark, brown' respectively; combined in modern usage the compound simply denotes 'not brown' or 'different from brown' in color.