A brown pigment made by boiling the soot produced by burning beech wood. Bistre was widely used for watercolors and wash drawings from the 14th through the 19th centuries. Pronunciation here.

Rembrandt van Rijn. Peasant Homestead Under Stormy Skies. Pen and ink with gouache and bistre wash on brownish toned paper.  Ca. 1635. Albertina Museum, Vienna.