umber

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A natural brown earth containing ferric oxide and manganese oxides, used as pigment.
2. n. Any of the shades of brown produced by umber in its various states.
3. adj. Of or related to umber.
4. adj. Having a brownish color.
5. v. To darken with or as if with umber.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Shade.
2. n. A fish, the grayling. See Thymallus.
3. n. The umber-bird.
4. n. Same as umbrel, 3.
5. n. A natural pigment somewhat resembling an ocher, but darker and browner, due to the presence of oxid of manganese. It probably originally came from Umbria in Italy, but now the best varieties come from Cyprus. The natural earth is called raw umber. When it is heated to almost a red heat in a furnace, the brown hydrated oxid of iron is changed into the red oxid of iron, and the pigment becomes redder and deeper in color, and is called burnt umber. Both these umbers are very important colors, both for artists and in house-painting. They are permanent, pure in tone, and of great service in making various tints.
6. Of a brown color; dark; dusky.
7. To color with umber, or as with umber; shade or darken.

Wiktionary

1. n. a brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
2. n. Alternative form of umbrere.
3. adj. Of a reddish brown colour, like that of the pigment.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Paint.) A brown or reddish pigment used in both oil and water colors, obtained from certain natural clays variously colored by the oxides of iron and manganese. It is commonly heated or burned before being used, and is then called burnt umber; when not heated, it is called raw umber. See Burnt umber, below.
2. n. obsolete An umbrere.
3. n. (Zoöl.) See Grayling, 1.
4. n. (Zoöl.) An African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the storks and herons. It is dull dusky brown, and has a large occipital crest. Called also umbrette, umbre, and umber bird.
5. adj. Of or pertaining to umber; resembling umber; olive-brown; dark brown; dark; dusky.
6. v. To color with umber; to shade or darken.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. of the color of any of various natural brown earth pigments
2. n. an earth pigment
3. n. a medium brown to dark-brown color