Webster's 1828 Dictionary
BISTER
n.Among painters, the burnt oil extracted from the soot of wood; a brown pigment. To prepare it, soot [that of beach is the best ] is put into water, in the proportion of two pounds to a gallon, and boiled half an hour; after standing to settle, and while hot, the clearer part of the fluid must be poured off from the sediment, and evaporated to dryness; the remainder is bister.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
BISTER; BISTRE
Bis "ter, Bis "tre, n. Etym: [F. bistre a color made of soot; of unknown origin. Cf. , however, LG. biester frowning, dark, ugly. ] (Paint. )
Defn: A dark brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood.
New American Oxford Dictionary
bister
bis ter |ˈbistər ˈbɪstər |(also bistre ) ▶noun a brownish-yellowish pigment made from the soot of burned wood. • the color of this pigment. ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from French bistre, of unknown origin.
Duden Dictionary
Bister
Bis ter Substantiv, maskulin oder Substantiv, Neutrum Malerei , der oder das |B i ster auch ˈbɪstɐ |der oder das Bister; Genitiv: des Bisters französisch bistre, Herkunft ungeklärt bräunliche Wasserfarbe aus Holzruß