Dictionary

sepian en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈsiːpiən/

Etymology

From sepia + -n.

Meanings

1. (archaic) Of the sepia, i.e. the cuttlefish.
   • He who dived in the swirling Maelstrom saw none to compare with them in horror: tentacular convolutions, tumid bulges, glaring orbs of sepian deformity, would have looked to him innocence beside such incarnations of hatefulness... 1895, George MacDonald, Lilith:
2. (dated) Of a dark or inky colour, often in reference to skin pigmentation.
   • Randomly selecting a fruit fly with sepian (dark brown) eyes 2010, Mario F. Triola, Elementary Statistics Technology Update, 11th revised edition of Elementary Statistics, published 2012, →ISBN, page 157:
3. (US, dated) Belonging to or pertaining to black Americans or African Americans, who typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.
   • Nineteenth century sepian musicals included Sam T. Jack's "Creoles" -1890... 1941, Who is who in Music, Berghan Publishing Company, page 37:

Forms

sepian en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsiːpiən/

Etymology

From sepia + -n.

Meanings

1. (US, capitalized, dated, sometimes) A black American or African American.
   • Chicago Defender columnists forewarned viewers that despite [The World, the Flesh and the Devil's] marketing as the "first interracial romance between male Sepian and non-Sepian female star," the only personal contact between Belafonte and Stevens occurs during the haircut scene and when she takes his hand. 2014 [1959], Judith E. Smith, Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public Radical, University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 187:

Forms

Synonyms

African-American