bistre

American  

[bis-ter] / ˈbɪs tər /

Or bister

noun

1. a brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood, often used in pen and wash drawings.

2. a yellowish to dark-brown color.

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bistre British  

/ ˈbɪstə /

noun

1. a transparent water-soluble brownish-yellow pigment made by boiling the soot of wood, used for pen and wash drawings

2. 1. a yellowish-brown to dark brown colour

   2. ( as modifier )

      bistre paint

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Other Word Forms

• bistred
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bistre

1720–30; < French, Middle French, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bistre

No. 76 of eighty copies printed on Japanese vellum, with frontispiece in two colours, black and bistre.

From A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3) Forming a portion of the library of Robert Hoe by Various

There are pearl-powder, violet-powder, rouge, bistre for the eyelids, belladonna for the eyes, whitelead and blacklead, yellow dye and mineral acids for the hair—all tending to the utter destruction of both hair and skin.

From Modern Women and What is Said of Them A Reprint of A Series of Articles in the Saturday Review (1868) by Lucia Gilbert Calhoun

In the morning, the chatelaine looked much the same as usual, but for the circle of bistre round her eyes, which had grown deeper, giving an air of lassitude.

From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Lewis Wingfield

A very singular drawing in pen and ink and bistre.

From The Dance of Death Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein by Francis Douce

Silver paint in bistre touched up with white, on grey paper.

From Great Masters in Painting: Perugino by George C. Williamson