A.Word.A.Day--sinopia

Wordsmith.org

The Magic of Words

Oct 14, 2010

This week's theme
Words about colors

This week's words
sienna
nankeen
gamboge
sinopia

A sinopia from Sinopie Museum, Pisa, Italy

Photo: Giovanni V.

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

sinopia

PRONUNCIATION:

(si-NO-pee-uh)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A reddish-brown color or pigment.
2. A preliminary drawing for a fresco.

ETYMOLOGY:

Via Italian and Latin, from Greek Sinope, an ancient colony and seaport in Asia Minor where this pigment was found. The word acquired its second sense from the use of the pigment in making preparatory sketches for a fresco.

USAGE:

"Lucrezia looked at the lively figures indicated in sinopia, and marveled at the lifelike quality of their gestures."
Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz; The Miracles of Prato: A Novel; Harper; 2010.

Explore "sinopia" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active. -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519)

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