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

No. 104 of two hundred and ten copies printed on Japanese vellum, with twenty plates in 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

Why, my boys rub blue and bistre till their faces run of a stream.

From Pencil Sketches or, Outlines of Character and Manners by Leslie, Eliza

No. 119 of one hundred and twenty-five copies printed on Japanese vellum, with full-page illustrations 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

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 Wingfield, Lewis

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