Etymograph

English

umber

Umber comes from Old French umbre ‘shade, shadow’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wnksrā-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wnksrā-reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEumbra‘shadow’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400umbre‘shade, shadow’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ombre
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600umber

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wnksrā-reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEumbra‘shadow’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400umbre‘shade, shadow’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ombre
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600umber

Earliest quotation: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “I'll put myself in poor and mean attire, And…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wnksrā-

sombrero, 14 more

through Latin umbra ‘shadow’

sombre, ombre, umbrage, umbra, 17 more

Today it means

noun A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wnksrā- / umber

Shirt and support for this word