sienna

[see-en-uh]

noun

a ferruginous earth used as a yellowish-brown pigment (raw sienna) or, after roasting in a furnace, as a reddish-brown pigment (burnt sienna).

the color of such a pigment.

Nearby words

Origin of sienna

1750–60; < Italian (terra di) Sien(n)a (earth of) Siena

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sienna

Also breaking: apparently, Delevingne and Sienna Miller are “schnoystering,” whatever that means.
Donald Sterling’s Former Mistress Makes the “Paparazzi Shield” Chic; Cara Delevingne Has Self-Grooming Eyebrows|The Fashion Beast Team|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dr. Sienna helpfully tells him “We see these occasionally in the medical field.”
Fact-Checking Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’: 10 Mistakes, False Statements, and Oversimplifications|Noah Charney|May 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They came onto the scene in 2004, on the feet of boho-chic English style icons Sienna Miller and Kate Moss.
Have Ugg Boots Made a Tepid Return to Fashion?|Misty White Sidell|February 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Those targeted included Princes William and Harry, as well as senior politicians and the actors Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller.
Sun Editor Calls Ethics Inquiry 'Ludicrous'|Charlotte Edwardes|January 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Actress Sienna Miller described paparazzi spitting at her to provoke a reaction they could photograph.
Murdoch’s News of the World Sins Exposed by Leveson Inquiry|Brian Cathcart|November 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Fresh contingents had poured in from Lucca, Sienna, and other towns.
The Two First Centuries of Florentine History|Pasquale Villari
The lower stories are painted a sienna color, and gables and roof a dark slate.
The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield|Emma Elizabeth Brown
The sienna color of the water on the table contrasted sharply with the emerald at the break of the fall.
Their Pilgrimage|Charles Dudley Warner
In the case of Catherine of Sienna the austerities began earlier than with Suso.
Religion & Sex|Chapman Cohen
These impressive ancestors rested on pedestals of Sienna marble.
The Pines of Lory|John Ames Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for sienna

sienna

noun

a natural earth containing ferric oxide used as a yellowish-brown pigment when untreated (raw sienna) or a reddish-brown pigment when roasted (burnt sienna)

the colour of this pigmentSee also burnt sienna

Word Origin for sienna

C18: from Italian terra di Siena earth of Siena

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 sienna

Sienna

city in central Italy, probably from Senones, the name of a Gaulish people who settled there in ancient times. Related: Sienese. The brownish-ochre color (1760) is from Italian terra di Sienna "earth of Siena," where the coloring material first was produced.