umber
umber
UK[ˈʌmbə]US[ˈʌmbər]
n
A natural brownish earth pigment containing iron and manganese oxides.
n
A medium brown to dark brown color.
adj
Of a brownish color, especially of a dark shade.
Etymology
The word 'umber' entered English in the 16th century from the French 'terre d'ombre' or Italian 'terra di ombra', meaning 'earth of shadow' or 'earth of Umbria'. The Italian region of Umbria was historically a source of this pigment. The deeper root lies in the Latin 'Umbria', the name of the region, which itself is likely related to the ancient Italic tribe, the Umbri. The semantic journey is thus from a geographical name (Umbria) to the material sourced from that land (raw earth), and finally to the specific dark brown color characteristic of that earth pigment.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword. Its core form 'umber' is borrowed directly from Italian and French, representing a unified concept of a color or pigment. It is not productively formed from smaller, meaningful English morphemes.
Examples
The artist used raw umber to create the deep shadows in the forest scene.
She painted the door a warm, earthy umber.
The soil in that valley has a distinct umber hue.