Definition of "umber"

umber

/ˈʌmbə/

noun
plural umbers
1. A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
  Quotations
  I'll put myself in poor and mean attire,And with a kind of umber smirch my face;The like do you; so shall we pass along,And never stir assailants.
  c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene iii], lines 518-21
2. Alternative form of umbrere
3. A grayling.
4. A dusky brown African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the shoebill and herons; a hamerkop.
adjective
not comparable
1. Of a reddish brown colour, like that of the pigment.
  Quotations
  Their harps are of the umber shade / That hides the blush of waking day.
  1819, Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay
verb
third-person singular simple present umbers, present participle umbering, simple past and past participle umbered
1. (transitive) To give a reddish-brown colour to.
  Quotations
  Armies o'er armies heap'd, the locusts came,Like clouds in autumn umbering all the sky […]
  1807, Charles Hoyle, Exodus