Sepia

sepia

1. a dark reddish-brown pigment obtained from the inky secretion of the cuttlefish

2. any cuttlefish of the genus Sepia

3. a brownish tone imparted to a photograph, esp an early one such as a calotype. It can be produced by first bleaching a print (after fixing) and then immersing it for a short time in a solution of sodium sulphide or of alkaline thiourea

4. a brownish-grey to dark yellowish-brown colour

5. a drawing or photograph in sepia

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Sepia

 

a genus of cephalopod mollusks of the order Decapoda. The body is elongated (up to 25 cm) and flattened, and there are fins on the sides. The arms are equipped with suckers; the two longest arms are wider at the ends and serve to capture prey. The shell is internal, located under a mantle on the back. The secretion of the large ink gland (an outgrowth of the rectum) is a means of defense. The cuttlefish of this genus can expel it into the water as an “ink bomb,” similar in shape to the animal itself, thus confusing and disorienting the enemy. Upon contact with the enemy, the bomb bursts, forming a “smoke screen.” The Sepia are bottom dwellers, and their body color harmonizes with the substratum. They crawl along the bottom with the help of their arms and swim slowly with their fins. They can also swim rapidly by expelling a jet of water from the mantle. The Sepia inhabit coastal waters (to a depth of 200 m) of tropical and warm seas. Their flesh is edible. The secretion of the ink gland (sepia) is used in painting as a very durable dark-brown color.

I. M. LIKHAREV

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Sepia

 

a light brown coloring substance. Natural sepia is obtained from the ink sac of the sepia, a marine mollusk. The sepia used in art today is a kind of watercolor that is prepared artificially in many tonal variations. Sepia is also a graphic technique that has been popular throughout Europe since the mid-18th century: a famous artist who used the technique is J. H. Fragonard in France.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

sepia

[′sē·pē·ə]

(materials)

A brown pigment prepared from the dried, inky exudation of a cuttlefish; used as a dye and in watercolors and ink.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

SEPIA

Standard ECRC Prolog Integrating Applications. Prolog with many extensions including attributed variables ("metaterms") and declarative coroutining. "SEPIA", Micha Meier <micha@ecrc.de> et al, TR-LP-36 ECRC, March 1988. Version 3.1 available for Suns and VAX. (See ECRC-Prolog). E-mail: <sepia-request@ecrc.de>.

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