ocher
noun
ˈō-kər 
variants or ochre
1
: an earthy usually red or yellow and often impure iron ore used as a pigment
2
: the color of ocher
especially : the color of yellow ocher
ocherous
ˈō-k(ə-)rəs
adjective or ochreous
ˈō-k(ə-)rəs
-krē-əs
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Artifacts in the grave included a bright-red nodule of ocher found near the person’s mouth and several flake-stone objects. 
Dominique Mosbergen, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 The animals painted in ocher in Colombia may include giant ground sloths and other creatures that vanished from the Americas. New York Times, 6 Mar. 2022 If that's the case, the archaeologists say, then the people who made the bladelets and stained the ground with ocher may have been part of the first wave of our species to reach eastern Asia. Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2022 Another housing project from the same period, Walden 7, outside Barcelona, consists of 22 towers grouped around five courtyards, their outer facades painted an earthy ocher and their courtyard facades a dark aqua. New York Times, 19 Jan. 2022 The researchers analyzed samples of the red residues and concluded that the ocher, a natural pigment found in clay, used to make them was brought to the cave from somewhere else -- although the study did not determine exactly from where. Katie Hunt, CNN, 2 Aug. 2021 Among the unique objects at Blombos are a number of pieces of ocher. Wyatt Mason, Harper's Magazine, 20 July 2021 Natural materials — feathers, shells, ocher, oil — were talismans to help ward off ills. New York Times, 7 May 2021 Centuries of paint, layer upon layer, peel away, a palimpsest of fine intentions measured in the warm earth tones of the south—terra-cotta, russet, rose madder, ocher; colors that were the latest thing in Caesar's day. Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Mar. 2021 See More
Dominique Mosbergen, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 The animals painted in ocher in Colombia may include giant ground sloths and other creatures that vanished from the Americas. New York Times, 6 Mar. 2022 If that's the case, the archaeologists say, then the people who made the bladelets and stained the ground with ocher may have been part of the first wave of our species to reach eastern Asia. Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2022 Another housing project from the same period, Walden 7, outside Barcelona, consists of 22 towers grouped around five courtyards, their outer facades painted an earthy ocher and their courtyard facades a dark aqua. New York Times, 19 Jan. 2022 The researchers analyzed samples of the red residues and concluded that the ocher, a natural pigment found in clay, used to make them was brought to the cave from somewhere else -- although the study did not determine exactly from where. Katie Hunt, CNN, 2 Aug. 2021 Among the unique objects at Blombos are a number of pieces of ocher. Wyatt Mason, Harper's Magazine, 20 July 2021 Natural materials — feathers, shells, ocher, oil — were talismans to help ward off ills. New York Times, 7 May 2021 Centuries of paint, layer upon layer, peel away, a palimpsest of fine intentions measured in the warm earth tones of the south—terra-cotta, russet, rose madder, ocher; colors that were the latest thing in Caesar's day. Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Mar. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English oker, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French ocre, from Latin ochra, from Greek ōchra, from feminine of ōchros yellow
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing ocher
ocherous
adjective
variants or ochreous
as in sandy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- sandy
- strawberry blonde
- blond
- straw
- tawny
- golden
- strawberry blond
- ash-blond
- flaxen
- fair
- blonde
- towheaded
- gold
- white
- blondish
- ash-blonde
- light
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- brown
- olive
- dark
- brunette
- brunet
- black-a-vised
- swart
- swarthy
- black
- ebony
- raven