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ocher

or o·chre

[oh-ker]
noun
  1. any of a class of natural earths, mixtures of hydrated oxide of iron with various earthy materials, ranging in color from pale yellow to orange and red, and used as pigments.
  2. the color of this, ranging from pale yellow to an orangish or reddish yellow.
  3. Obsolete. money, especially gold coin.
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adjective
  1. of the color of ocher.
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verb (used with object), o·chered, o·cher·ing.
  1. to color or mark with ocher.
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Origin of ocher

1350–1400; Middle English oker < Old French ocre < Latin ōchrā < Greek ṓchrā yellow ocher
Related formso·cher·ous, o·cher·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ocher

Historical Examples

  • Paint them well with ocher before using; they will last longer.

    The Apple

    Various

  • She shall be veiled to her eyes, with a bit of ocher on her forehead.

  • Female—The female is much more of an ocher brown than the male, and without the stripe on the neck or the lead color of the bill.

  • Rim sherd from large pan, red body liberally flecked with ocher, thin lead glaze, the rim folded and flattened on the upper edge.

  • The body orange-to-pink earthenware flecked with ocher, presumably biscuit and rejected before glazing.

British Dictionary definitions for ocher

ocher

noun, adjective, verb
  1. the US spelling of ochre
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Derived Formsocherous or ochery, adjectiveochroid (ˈəʊkrɔɪd), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ocher

see ochre.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper