Word
sepia
US/ˈsipiə/
UK/sˈiːpiɐ/
Definition
n. a dark brown color that looks like the ink of a squid. It is often used to describe old photographs that have turned brown over time.
n. a dark brown pigment or color, originally derived from the ink of the cuttlefish. Often used to describe the tonal quality of aged photographic prints or the specific hue of the pigment itself.
Examples
“The old photograph had a beautiful sepia tone.”
“The artist used sepia to create a warm, vintage effect on the portrait of the elderly gentleman.”
“While digital restoration can return a photograph to its original color, many collectors still prefer the soft, nostalgic quality of a sepia-toned image from the late nineteenth century.”
Examples
simple
“The old photograph had a beautiful sepia tone.”
contextual
“The artist used sepia to create a warm, vintage effect on the portrait of the elderly gentleman.”
complex
“While digital restoration can return a photograph to its original color, many collectors still prefer the soft, nostalgic quality of a sepia-toned image from the late nineteenth century.”
Real-World Examples
“Pinned to a board in the corner of the room are a dozen X-rays: shattered bones and metal splints in sepia negative, each with a note attached.” Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sēpia (“cuttlefish”), from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía). Cognate with Italian seppia, Portuguese siba, and Spanish sepia.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/sepia