terracotta

plural terracottas · alternative terra cotta · alternative terra-cotta

1. uncountableusuallyA hard red-brown unglazed earthenware, used for pottery and building construction.

   Among her busts in terra cotta are those of John Brown, Charles Sumner, Lincoln, and Longfellow.

   1918, Benjamin Brawley, “XI. Sculptors.—Meta Warrick Fuller”, in The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States, page 113

2. uncountableusuallyA reddish brown colour, like that of terra cotta.

alternative terra cotta · alternative terra-cotta

1. not comparableOf the colour of terracotta.

   A dull red or terracotta brown is far better, and sets off the foliage of Palms or Ferns to greater advantage.

   1892 June 18, F. W. B., “Why Paint a Greenhouse White?”, in The Garden, volume 41, page 569

   2 more examples

   She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet.

   1963, Margery Allingham, “Dangerous Lady”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 36

   But let's not judge them by the content of their character. Let's judge them by the colour of their skin, which is terracotta.

   2012 July 1, Charlie Brooker, “The cast of Geordie Shore are the noblest people in Britain today”, in The Guardian