A.Word.A.Day --umber

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umber

PRONUNCIATION:

(UM-buhr)

MEANING:

noun: A natural brown earth, used as a pigment; a reddish-brown color.

ETYMOLOGY:

Via French from Latin umbra (shade, shadow), which also gave us the words umbrella, umbrage, adumbrate, and somber. Umbria, a region of ancient Italy, has also been suggested as an origin for this term. The color burnt umber is made by roasting umber.

USAGE:

"Seeing the red, blue, umber and yellow palettes,' Ms. Ross said, 'is like seeing an old familiar black-and-white movie suddenly, strangely colorized.'"
Eve M. Kahn; Televisions With a Proud History: The New York Times; Sep 24, 2009.

See more usage examples of umber in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way. -Martin Luther King Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)

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