ater - black, dead black, dark, gloomy, eerie, unlucky or unfortunate.
Apparently it contrasts with niger, which apparently meant glossy black, though its other associations were comparable to those of ater. I had had no idea this word ater existed, never mind that the Latin color vocabulary distinguished matte and glossy black on the level of the lexicon. I am now casting my eyes about the room. The leather jacket is niger, I think, the boots, certainly so, but the radio speakers ater like the desk chair cushion, the heap of sweaters, and the dripping umbrella. And to think! My wardrobe seems suddenly 200% more colorful than before I learned this useful word.
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