bone black
- noun
- /boʊn blæk/
- Specialized
:
negro de hueso
- Many painters prefer bone black over other pigments.
Examples
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The artist used bone black for the shadows in her painting.
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The artist chose bone black to achieve a deep, matte finish in her painting.
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A trace of bone black can sometimes be detected in the analysis of old frescoes.
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Historic printmakers often used bone black as a primary pigment in their inks.
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Many artists prefer to use bone black in their oil paintings for its rich color.
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The excellent coverage of bone black makes it a popular choice for manufacturers of high-quality inks.
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When mixing colors for traditional art, some painters add bone black to create deeper shades.
Synonyms
A black material made from burned animal bones used in paint and ink
A black material made by burning animal bones used to colour or filter liquids
A black material made by burning animal bones used to color things and clean liquids
A deep black paint used by artists, originally made from burnt ivory
How Dark
- Specialized
1
5.9
- Specialized
1
9.8
- Specialized
31
2.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a black pigment made from charred animal bones' is directly derivable from the constituents 'bone' (the source material) + 'black' (the colour), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a black substance related to bone. This noun–noun compounding is a regular, compositional pattern in English (and mirrored in many languages), making the expression transparently interpretable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Bone black comes from a simple old method: makers burned animal bones until they turned black and ground them to a fine powder. That dark powder was used to make ink and paint, so bone black means 'a black pigment' used in paints and inks.