Umber
/ˈʌm.bər/noun
A natural brown earth pigment, or a dark brown color.
Did you know?The pigment’s name ultimately comes from Italian *ombra* (“shadow”), and the same root gave us the word *umbra* for the darkest part of an eclipse.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
umber
“A brown earth pigment and the color it makes.”
17th Century
Italian
ombra
“Shadow; shade.”
Late Latin
Latin
umbra
“Shadow, shade, or a shady phantom.”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁n̥dʰ-?
“Uncertain; the standard etymology is through Latin *umbra*, but the deeper pre-Latin origin is obscure.”