Why this word is great
UMBER — [Adjective, Noun, Verb] A natural iron and manganese earth pigment of brown or reddish-brown; its resulting color; the act of applying it. From Middle French ombre ("umber"), from terre d'ombre ("dark ochre"), from Old French umbre ("shade, shadow"), from Latin umbra ("shadow"). Unlike ochre, which sings in the yellow key of sunlight, or sienna, which holds the warm glow of fired clay, umber is the pigment of the earth's own shadow—cool, subdued, and dense with manganese. It is the deep stain on a damp forest floor, the weathered grain of an old barn's timber, the solemn patina of an unvarnished violin: the tangible residue of shadow, proving that darkness, too, has substance and can be held in the hand.