UMBER

umber

(adjective) of the color of any of various natural brown earth pigments

chocolate, coffee, deep brown, umber, burnt umber

(noun) a medium brown to dark-brown color

umber

(noun) an earth pigment

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

umber (plural umbers)

A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.

Alternative form of umbrere

A grayling.

A dusky brown African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the storks and herons.

Adjective

umber (not comparable)

Of a reddish brown colour, like that of the pigment.

Verb

umber (third-person singular simple present umbers, present participle umbering, simple past and past participle umbered)

(transitive) To give a reddish-brown colour to.

Anagrams

• brume, umbre

Source: Wiktionary


Um"ber, n. Etym: [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.)

Definition: 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. Etym: [F. ombre, umbre, L. umbra.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: See Grayling, 1.

4. Etym: [Cf. NL. scopus umbretta, F. ombrette; probably fr. L. umbra shade, in allusion to its dark brown color. See Umber a pigment.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: 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.

Um"ber, a.

Definition: 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.

Um"ber, v. t.

Definition: To color with umber; to shade or darken; as, to umber over one's face. B. Jonson.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 March 2025

IMMOBILIZATION

(noun) fixation (as by a plaster cast) of a body part in order to promote proper healing; “immobilization of the injured knee was necessary”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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