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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Umber

Forsythia leaves in fall, Oct. 2011

This week's word is umber (pronounced uhm-ber).  It is an adjective, a color name meaning either a yellowish brown -- sometimes called "raw umber" -- or a reddish brown -- also known as "burnt umber".  (Umber is also a noun, meaning a natural brown clay pigment containing manganese and iron oxides.)  It's a good word for autumn and the reddish brown leaves that some plants display this time of year.  I also realized while writing this that the Scrabble tiles I use for all my "word posts" are the color of umber....

A kaleidoscope of mustard, crimson, and umber leaves blanketed the ground.

What other things can you think of that are umber in color?  How would you use "umber" in a sentence?

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