Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
umber - 6 dictionary results

um⋅ber

  [uhm-ber]
Use umber in a Sentence
–noun
1. an earth consisting chiefly of a hydrated oxide of iron and some oxide of manganese, used in its natural state as a brown pigment (raw umber) or, after heating, as a reddish-brown pigment (burnt umber).
2. the color of such a pigment; dark dusky brown or dark reddish brown.
3. Ichthyology. the European grayling, Thymallus thymallus.
4. North England Dialect. shade; shadow.
–adjective
5. of the color umber.
–verb (used with object)
6. to color with or as if with umber.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME umbre, umber shade, shadow < OF umbre < L umbra; in sense “earth” < F terre d'ombre or It terra di ombra
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To umber
um·ber   (ŭm'bər)   
n.  
  1. A natural brown earth containing ferric oxide and manganese oxides, used as pigment.
  2. Any of the shades of brown produced by umber in its various states.
adj.  
  1. Of or related to umber.
  2. Having a brownish color.
tr.v.   um·bered, um·ber·ing, um·bers
To darken with or as if with umber.

[French (terre d') ombre or Italian (terra di) ombra, shadow (earth), both possibly from alteration (influenced by French ombre and Italian ombra, shadow) of Latin Umbria, a region of ancient Italy.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Umber

Um"ber\, n. [F. ombre ocherous ore of iron, terre d'ombre, It. terra d'ombra, literally, earth of shadow or shade, L. umbra shadow, shade. Cf. Umber, 3 & 4, Umbrage.]

1. (Paint.) A brown or reddish pigment used in both oil and water colors, obtained from certain natural clays variously colored by the oxides of iron and manganese. It is commonly heated or burned before being used, and is then called burnt umber; when not heated, it is called raw umber. See Burnt umber, below.

2. An umbrere. [Obs.]

3. [F. ombre, umbre, L. umbra.] (Zo["o]l.) See Grayling, 1.

4. [Cf. NL. scopus umbretta, F. ombrette; probably fr. L. umbra shade, in allusion to its dark brown color. See Umber a pigment.] (Zo["o]l.) An African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the storks and herons. It is dull dusky brown, and has a large occipital crest. Called also umbrette, umbre, and umber bird.

Burnt umber (Paint.), a pigment made by burning raw umber, which is changed by this process from an olive brown to a bright reddish brown.

Cologne, or German, umber, a brown pigment obtained from lignite. See Cologne earth.

Umber

Um"ber\, a. Of or pertaining to umber; resembling umber; olive-brown; dark brown; dark; dusky.

Their harps are of the umber shade That hides the blush of waking day. --J. R. Drake.

Umber

Um"ber\, v. t. To color with umber; to shade or darken; as, to umber over one's face. --B. Jonson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

umber 
brown earthy pigment, 1568, from M.Fr. ombre (in terre d'ombre), or It. ombra (in terra di ombra), both from either L. umbra "shade, shadow" (see umbrage) or from Umbra, fem. of Umber "belonging to Umbria," region in central Italy from which the coloring matter first came. Burnt umber, specially prepared and redder in color, is attested from c.1650.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see umber on Thesaurus | Reference