sepia

Etymology

From Latin sēpia, from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía, “cuttlefish”), from σήψ (sḗps, “a kind of lizard, also a kind of serpent whose bite was alleged to cause putrefaction”). Compare Italian seppia.

noun

1. A dark brown pigment made from the secretions of the cuttlefish.
2. A dark, slightly reddish, brown colour.
   sepia:
3. (by extension, countable) A sepia-coloured drawing or photograph.
4. (archaic, countable) The cuttlefish.

adj

1. (colour) Of a dark reddish-brown colour.
   Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess
   Only now did he realise how few colours there had been at the end of the universe. The world had been sepia, drained of colour and light. 1985, Lance Parkin, The Infinity Doctors, page 209
   Dawn mist rolling off the adjacent North Downs creates a sepia effect over the river with no need for digital enhancement. July 14 2021, “Modern Images”, in RAIL, number 935, page 37, photo caption