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o·cher or o·chre

(ōkər)

1. Any of several earthy mineral oxides of iron occurring in yellow, brown, or red and used as pigments.

2. A moderate orange yellow, from moderate or deep orange to moderate or strong yellow.

[Middle English oker, from Old French ocre, from Late Latin ōcra, from Latin ōchra, from Greek ōkhra, from ōkhros, pale yellow.]

ocher·ous, ocher·y (ōkrē) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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