sepia

American  

[see-pee-uh] / ˈsi pi ə /

noun

1. a brown pigment obtained from the inklike secretion of various cuttlefish and used with brush or pen in drawing.

2. a drawing made with this pigment.

3. a dark brown.

4. Photography. a print or photograph made in this color.

5. any of several cuttlefish of the genus Sepia, producing a dark fluid used naturally for defense and, by humans, in ink.

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adjective

1. of a brown, grayish brown, or olive brown similar to that of sepia ink.

sepia British  

/ ˈsiːpɪə /

noun

1. a dark reddish-brown pigment obtained from the inky secretion of the cuttlefish

2. any cuttlefish of the genus Sepia

3. a brownish tone imparted to a photograph, esp an early one such as a calotype. It can be produced by first bleaching a print (after fixing) and then immersing it for a short time in a solution of sodium sulphide or of alkaline thiourea

4. a brownish-grey to dark yellowish-brown colour

5. a drawing or photograph in sepia

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adjective

1. of the colour sepia or done in sepia

   a sepia print

Other Word Forms

• sepialike adjective
• sepic adjective

Etymology

Origin of sepia

1560–70; < Latin sēpia cuttlefish, its secretion < Greek sēpía; akin to sêpsis sepsis

Example Sentences

Entering Sphere, the escalators are tinted sepia and the soundscape hums with birdsong and lowing cattle.

From Los Angeles Times

The light is too harshly angled and full of diodes, too precise, too careful and still somehow not careful enough, not surreal, sepia and tender enough.

From Los Angeles Times

You know she’s the central character because she’s the one who gets all the flashbacks, rendered in the customary sepia tones, each introduced by a sort of heartbeat motif on the soundtrack.

From Los Angeles Times

In order to get to France, we have to cruise through Mexico, which, in “Emilia Pérez,” is just France with a sepia filter.

From Los Angeles Times

There is a sepia effect from the red, brown and orange hues which can make for more dramatic views.

From BBC