sepian

English

Etymology

From sepia +‎ -n.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːpiən/

Adjective

sepian (comparative more sepian, superlative most sepian)

1. (archaic) Of the sepia, i.e. the cuttlefish.
   • 1895, George MacDonald, Lilith:

     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...

2. (dated) Of a dark or inky colour, often in reference to skin pigmentation. [from mid 20th c.]
   • 2010, Mario F. Triola, Elementary Statistics Technology Update, 11th revised edition of Elementary Statistics, published 2012, →ISBN, page 157:

     Randomly selecting a fruit fly with sepian (dark brown) eyes

   sepian:  

3. (US, dated) Belonging to or pertaining to black Americans or African Americans, who typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. [from mid 20th c.]
   • 1941, Who is who in Music, Berghan Publishing Company, page 37:

     Nineteenth century sepian musicals included Sam T. Jack's "Creoles" -1890...

Noun

sepian (plural sepians)

1. (US, sometimes capitalized, dated) A black American or African American. [from mid 20th c.]

   Synonym: African-American

   • 2014 [1959], Judith E. Smith, Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public Radical, University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 187:

     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.

References

• 2013, Dennis Gildea, Hoop Crazy: The Lives of Clair Bee and Chip Hilton, University of Arkansas Press, →ISBN, page 133:

  Slutz's use of "sepian," though, is consistent with the practice of other sportswriters of the period.