umber

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umber

/ˈʌmbə/ UK
/ˈʌmbɚ/ US

Rhymes with -ʌmbə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle French ombre (“umber”), from terre d'ombre (“dark ochre”), from Old French umbre (“shade, shadow”), from Latin umbra. Doublet of umbra.

noun umbers · umbre

countable, uncountable A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides. They instructed the upholsterer to do the sofa in cinnamon and the ottoman in umber.
alternative, countable, uncountable Alternative form of umbrere
countable, uncountable A grayling.
countable, uncountable A dusky brown African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the shoebill and herons; a hamerkop.

adjective umbre

not comparable Of a reddish brown colour, like that of the pigment. Their harps are of the umber shade / That hides the blush of waking day.

verb umbers · umbering · umbered · umbre

transitive To give a reddish-brown colour to. Armies o'er armies heap'd, the locusts came, Like clouds in autumn umbering all the sky […]

Translations

Every language

noun colour

日本語	アンバー色 anbā-iro
中文	棕土色 zōngtǔsè
Français	terre d'ombre

noun brown clay

日本語	アンバー anbā
中文	棕土 zōngtǔ
Русский	умбра umbra

adj colour

日本語	アンバー色の anbā-iro no
中文	棕土色的 zōngtǔsè de

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Cite this

MLA

"umber." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/umber. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

umber. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/umber

Chicago

"umber." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/umber.

BibTeX

@misc{umber_2026,
  title = {umber},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/umber},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}