U

ambery

noun

a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator: used for making jewelry and other ornamental articles.
the yellowish-brown color of resin.

adjective

of the color of amber; yellowish-brown: amber fields of grain.
made of amber: amber earrings.

noun

1. a yellow or yellowish-brown hard translucent fossil resin derived from extinct coniferous trees that occurs in Tertiary deposits and often contains trapped insects. It is used for jewellery, ornaments, etc
2. (as modifier)an amber necklace Related adjective: succinic
fly in amber a strange relic or reminder of the past
1. a medium to dark brownish-yellow colour, often somewhat orange, similar to that of the resin
2. (as adjective)an amber dress
an amber traffic light used as a warning between red and green

mid-14c., “ambergris, perfume made from ambergris,” from Old French ambre, from Medieval Latin ambar “ambergris,” from Arabic ‘anbar “ambergris.” In Europe, the sense was extended, inexplicably, to fossil resins from the Baltic (late 13c. in Anglo-Latin; c.1400 in English), which has become the main sense as the use of ambergris has waned. This formerly was known as white or yellow amber to distinguish it from ambergris, which word entered English early 15c. from French, which distinguished the two substances as ambre gris and amber jaune. The classical word for Baltic amber was electrum (cf. electric).

A hard, translucent, brownish-yellow substance that is the fossilized resin of ancient trees. It often contains fossil insects.