amber
Use Amber in a sentence
bər noun
1.
a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator: used for making jewelry and other ornamental articles.
2.
the yellowish-brown color of resin.
adjective
3.
of the color of amber; yellowish-brown: amber fields of grain.
4.
made of amber: amber earrings.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English ambre < Old French < Medieval Latin ambra < Arabic ʿanbar ambergris; confusion of the dissimilar substances perhaps because both were rare, valuable, and found on seacoasts
1350–1400; Middle English ambre < Old French < Medieval Latin ambra < Arabic ʿanbar ambergris; confusion of the dissimilar substances perhaps because both were rare, valuable, and found on seacoasts
Related forms
am·ber·like, am·ber·y, am·ber·ous, adjective
00:10
Amber
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To AMBER
Collins
World English Dictionary
amber (ˈæmbə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. a yellow or yellowish-brown hard translucent fossil resin derived from extinct coniferous trees that occurs in Tertiary deposits and often contains trapped insects. It is used for jewellery, ornaments, etc |
| b. (as modifier): an amber necklace Related: succinic | |
| 2. | fly in amber a strange relic or reminder of the past |
| 3. | a. a medium to dark brownish-yellow colour, often somewhat orange, similar to that of the resin |
| b. (as adjective): an amber dress | |
| 4. | an amber traffic light used as a warning between red and green |
| Related: succinic | |
| [C14: from Medieval Latin ambar, from Arabic `anbar ambergris] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
amber
mid-14c., "ambergris," from O.Fr. ambre, from M.L. ambar, from Arabic 'anbar "amber," a word brought home to Europe by the Crusaders. The sense was extended to fossil resin c.1400, which has become the main sense as the use of ambergris has waned. This formerly was known as white or yellow amber. In
Fr., they are distinguished as ambre gris and amber jaune. Cf. also electric.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
amber (ām'bər) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) A hard, translucent, brownish-yellow substance that is the fossilized resin of ancient trees. It often contains fossil insects. Our Living Language : Certain trees, especially conifers, produce a sticky substance called resin to protect themselves against insects. Normally, it decays in oxygen through the action of bacteria. However, if the resin happens to fall into wet mud or sand containing little oxygen, it can harden and eventually fossilize, becoming the yellowish, translucent substance known as amber. If any insects or other organisms are trapped in the resin before it hardens, they can be preserved, often in exquisite detail. By studying these preserved organisms, scientists are able learn key facts about life on Earth millions of years ago. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
Amber definition
language1. A functional programming language which adds CSP-like concurrency, multiple inheritance and persistence to ML and generalises its type system. It is similar to Galileo. Programs must be written in two type faces, roman and italics! It has both static types and dynamic types.
There is an implementation for Macintosh.
["Amber", L. Cardelli, TR Bell Labs, 1984].
2. An object-oriented distributed language based on a subset of C++, developed at Washington University in the late 1980s.
(1994-12-08)
Easton
Bible Dictionary
Amber definition
(Ezek. 1:4, 27; 8:2. Heb., hashmal, rendered by the LXX. elektron, and by the Vulgate electrum), a metal compounded of silver and gold. Some translate the word by "polished brass," others "fine brass," as in Rev. 1:15; 2:18. It was probably the mixture now called electrum. The word has no connection, however, with what is now called amber, which is a gummy substance, reckoned as belonging to the mineral kingdom though of vegetable origin, a fossil resin.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences from the web
Good quality amber is used for the manufacture of ornamental objects and jewellery.
A common misconception is that amber is made of tree sap it is not.
Amber in these mountains is tightly embedded in a lignite layer of sandstone.
Bony amber owes its cloudy opacity to minute bubbles in the interior of the resin.
Nearby Words
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