Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Variant of ocher.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. See ocher.
Wiktionary
- n. An earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide
- n. A somewhat dark yellowish orange colour
- n. molecular biology, colloquial The stop codon sequence "UAA."
- adj. Having a yellow-orange colour.
- adj. archaeology Referring to cultures that covered their dead with ochre.
- v. to cover with ochre
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Min.) See ocher.
WordNet 3.0
- n. any of various earths containing silica and alumina and ferric oxide; used as a pigment
- n. a moderate yellow-orange to orange color
- adj. of a moderate orange-yellow color
Etymologies
- From Old French ocre and its source Latin ōchra, from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ōkhra, "pale yellow"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“E'en as a fresco one sees drawn on a wall, painted in ochre,”
“-- This alludes to the mode of taking the tithe of cattle, which were made to pass singly through a narrow gateway, where a person with a rod, dipped in ochre, stood, and counting them, marked the back of every tenth beast, whether male or female, sound or unsound.”
“But, while the people who shop at Walmart and Target make no bones about their purchases: Oprah books, self-help, Grisham, Dan Brown, Danielle Steel, Koontz, etc. (so those stores only stock those titles), those who shop at Indigo want to feel as though they’re of a certain “lifestyle” (so the store puts in couches and offers lattes) and colours the walls whatever yuppy ochre is current.”
“For the next five centuries the bodies were finished with red ochre, which is found in abundance near Arica.”
“Usually the hand is covered with red ochre, which is probably a substitute for blood; and the impression of the hand is made on the wall of a temple in token of a vow.”
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II
“Burnt ochre, which is very serviceable in stucco work, is made as follows.”
“We shall first set forth the natural colours that are dug up as such, like yellow ochre, which is termed [Greek: ôchra] in Greek.”
“Such change cannot take place in ochre, which is altogether a mineral substance.”
“At Marni, the perennial home of the eccentric, unexpected combinations such as ochre Bermuda shorts, knee socks and reading spectacles recall "Little Edie" Beale.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ochre’.
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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phrontistery - o
from phrontistery.info
oakum, oakus, oast, obambulate, obdormition, obduracy, obedible, obedientiary, obeism, obeliscolychny, obelize, obelus and 504 more...
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UK Usage - Find US Equivalent
All these terms have a (different) American English equivalent. Wonder if you can identify them?
abridgement (abri..., accoutrement, accoutre, acknowledgement (..., opposite, advert, adaptor, adapter, sticking plaster, advertise, adviser (advisor ..., adze, aesthete and 1196 more...
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Uncommon Colours
azure, myrtle, periwinkle, viridian, jade, emerald, lime, chartreuse, asparagus, celadon, harlequin, olive and 147 more...
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Used
halcyon, ineluctable, inspissated, incarnadine, askance, demur, saltation, requisite, effusive, specious, liminality, indomitable and 114 more...
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Archaic Colours
Words for colours that have fallen out of use.
aeneous, croceate, cretaceous, cramoisy, corbeau, coquelicot, coccineous, claret, cinerious, chrysochlorous, chlorochrous, cesious and 128 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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Colour Me Happy
violet, lavender, rose, eggshell, mauve, fuschia, grey, azure, almond, sienna, purple, periwinkle and 71 more...
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colors
This list aims to contain words whose primary definition describes the color itself, unlike gold, silver, rust, turquoise, etc. Of course red can mean communist, blue can mean sad, yellow can mean ...
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple, pink, grey, gray, white, black and 25 more...
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Brown
chocolate, chestnut, coffee, beige, clay, bronze, copper, camel, chamoisee, tan, wenge, umber and 16 more...
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Colour & light
Beautiful words for the things we sense.
opaline, verdigris, opalescent, lustrous, nacreous, gloaming, lambent, lucent, darkling, glister, lapis, sapphire and 24 more...
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Colors
cerise, carnelian, florid, claret, watchet, rosaceous, coquelicot, vermilion, celadon, nacreous, lapis, viridescent and 132 more...
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mycological hues
rubescent, lutescent, cinereous, avellaneous, fuscous, fulvous, sordid, lurid, livid, ochre, ochraceous, vinaceous and 6 more...
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Favorite Words
pablum, maundy, histrionic, adamant, ascribe, verbiage, insouciant, erudite, gregarious, superfluous, banal, obdurate and 280 more...
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Northern Territory
The Northern Territory of Australia. Suggestions welcome.
win-a-croc, angurugu, intervention, mala, qantas, ochre, nitmiluk, the ghan, wet season, dry season, nyinyikay, dragonfly and 94 more...
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Colors
Words for colors, including things so associated with a color that they can be used in reference to a color.
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, purple, navy, lavender, turquoise, chartreuse and 218 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ochre.

bilby Ah, yep. Got'em now. Lyric makes sense :-) But do you think Freberg hates freedom? Apr 17, 2009
chained_bear bilby, I just found this again and wondered if you'd be interested in the lyrics found on puce. Apr 16, 2009
reesetee I lurve Stan Freberg. Oct 6, 2008
bilby Thank you. I ask because my state flag has a desert rose (okay, not fleur-de-lys but at least a fleur) on an ochre background, and corrugated tin/iron is somewhat cherished as a building material here. Strange. Oct 6, 2008
chained_bear "Everybody Wants to Be an Art Director" by Stan Freberg. Oct 6, 2008
bilby From which song is that lyric? Oct 6, 2008
chained_bear When I see this word, I always start singing the lyric "How'd you like a flag that features fleur-de-lys on ochre corrugated tin?" Oct 6, 2008