sepia

/ˈsipiə/

/ˈsipiə/

Other forms: sepias

Sepia is a reddish-brown color, sometimes specifically made for artists from cuttlefish ink. The distinctly brown-tinted photographs of the 19th century are also described as sepia.

In both Greek and Latin, sepia means "cuttlefish." The ancient Greeks and Romans were the first to take advantage of the fluid these fish release when they're startled — it was prized as a pigment for both writers and artists. The word itself came to be used for both the pigment and its red-brown color. Antique sepia-colored photographs are so well known and popular that many modern photographs are deliberately edited to appear sepia-toned.

Definitions of sepia

1. noun

   a shade of brown with a tinge of red
   synonyms: Venetian red, burnt sienna, mahogany, reddish brown

   types:

   brick red

   a bright reddish-brown color

   copper, copper color

   a reddish-brown color resembling the color of polished copper

   Indian red

   a reddish-brown color resembling the red soil used as body paint by American Indians

   type of:

   brown, brownness

   an orange of low brightness and saturation
2. noun

   rich brown pigment prepared from the ink of cuttlefishes
   type of:

   pigment

   dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.)