sepia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsiːpiə/ (UK); /ˈsipiə/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sēpia (“cuttlefish; ink”),^[2][3][4][5] in the sense of the pigment probably by way of Italian seppia (“cuttlefish”),^[3][4][6] from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía, “cuttlefish”),^[2][3][4][5] a word of uncertain origin.^[4] It is often connected with σήπειν (sḗpein, “to make rotten”) (see sepsis),^[2][4][7][8] which Beekes finds semantically possible but formally problematic, suggesting instead a Pre-Greek word.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The cuttlefish (1569 in the OED and Merriam-Webster Unabridged; before 1398 in Barnhart).^[9][8][3]

Semantic evolution

The cuttlefish is named for its inky secretion,^[3][8] from which a rich brown pigment was prepared for drawing inks and monochrome watercolour; in this sense sepia is recorded from 1815–21.^[4][9][3][5] It then named a drawing done in sepia (1863)^[9] and a photograph with a brown tint, especially an early one.^[2][5][10] The adjective, “of the colour sepia”, dates from 1827.^[9][3][5]

Timeline

• 1569 – the cuttlefish.^[9][8]
• 1815 – the brown pigment (Etymonline); 1821 in the OED.^[4][9][3]
• 1827 – adjective.^[9][3][5]
• 1863 – a sepia drawing.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A dark brown pigment or ink originally made from the secretion of the cuttlefish.
2. A drawing or picture done in this pigment.
3. A photograph or print in a brown tint.
4. A dark greyish or reddish brown colour.
5. Any cuttlefish of the genus Sepia.

Adjective

1. Of the colour sepia.
2. Done or made in sepia.

Related words

• sepiolite
• sepsis
• septic
• cuttlefish

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins