sepia
English
Etymology
From Latin sēpia, from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía, “cuttlefish”), from σήψ (sḗps, “a kind of lizard, also a kind of serpent whose bite was alleged to cause putrefaction”). Compare Italian seppia.
Pronunciation
Noun
sepia (countable and uncountable, plural sepias)
- A dark brown pigment made from the secretions of the cuttlefish. [from 1820s]
- A dark, slightly reddish, brown colour.
- sepia:
- (by extension, countable) A sepia-coloured drawing or photograph.
- (archaic, countable) The cuttlefish. [from 16th c.]
Translations
|
|
Adjective
sepia (comparative more sepia, superlative most sepia)
- Of a dark reddish-brown colour.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.
- 1985, Lance Parkin, The Infinity Doctors, page 209:
- Only now did he realise how few colours there had been at the end of the universe. The world had been sepia, drained of colour and light.
- 2021 July 14, “Modern Images”, in RAIL, number 935, page 37, photo caption:
- Dawn mist rolling off the adjacent North Downs creates a sepia effect over the river with no need for digital enhancement.
Related terms
Translations
See also
Anagrams
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch sepia, a direct borrowing from Latin sepia, and reinforced by French or Italian.
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
sepia f or m (uncountable)
Synonyms
- (cuttlefish): zeekat
Noun
sepia n (uncountable)
- the color sepia
- a style of yellowish/brownish-and-black photography
Further reading
- van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “sepia”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía), often suggested to be from Ancient Greek σήπειν (sḗpein, “to make rotten”), but (per Beekes) could instead be a Pre-Greek word.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈseː.pi.a/, [ˈs̠eːpiä]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈse.pi.a/, [ˈsɛːpiä]
Noun
sēpia f (genitive sēpiae); first declension
- a cuttlefish
- the secretion of a cuttlefish used as ink
Declension
First-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | sēpia | sēpiae |
Genitive | sēpiae | sēpiārum |
Dative | sēpiae | sēpiīs |
Accusative | sēpiam | sēpiās |
Ablative | sēpiā | sēpiīs |
Vocative | sēpia | sēpiae |
Synonyms
- (cuttlefish): lōlīgō
Descendants
- Istriot:
- Italo-Romance:
- Padanian:
- Northern Gallo-Romance:
- French: seiche
- Occitano-Romance:
- Ibero-Romance:
- Borrowings:
References
- “sepia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “sepia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- sepia in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- sepia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- “sepia”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia[1]
- “sepia”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
- Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “sēpia”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 11: S–Si, page 478
- Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “sēpia”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 589
Polish
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin sēpia, from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía).
Pronunciation
Noun
sepia f
- cephalopod ink
- sepia (color)
- (photography) sepia toning
- cuttlefish
- Synonym: mątwa
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- sepia in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Spanish
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin sēpia. Doublet of jibia.
Pronunciation
Noun
sepia f (plural sepias)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “sepia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːpiə
- Rhymes:English/iːpiə/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with archaic senses
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- en:Browns
- en:Cephalopods
- en:Pigments
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms borrowed from French
- Dutch terms derived from French
- Dutch terms borrowed from Italian
- Dutch terms derived from Italian
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch uncountable nouns
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch nouns with multiple genders
- Dutch neuter nouns
- nl:Cephalopods
- Latin terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Latin terms derived from a Pre-Greek substrate
- Latin 3-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin first declension nouns
- Latin feminine nouns in the first declension
- Latin feminine nouns
- la:Cephalopods
- Polish terms borrowed from Latin
- Polish learned borrowings from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛpja
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛpja/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish feminine nouns
- pl:Photography
- pl:Cephalopods
- pl:Browns
- Spanish terms borrowed from Latin
- Spanish learned borrowings from Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish doublets
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/epja
- Rhymes:Spanish/epja/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- es:Photography