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The Latin word umbra ("shade, shadow") has given English a range of words in addition to umbra itself. An umbrella can provide us with shade from the sun. So can an umbrageous tree. (In this case, umbrageous means "affording shade.") The connection to shade or shadow in other umbra words is less obvious. When we say someone takes umbrage, we mean they take offense, but in times past people used the word as a synonym of shade or shadow. These two senses of umbrage influenced umbrageous, which can mean "inclined to take offense easily" as well as "affording shade."
Examples of umbra in a Sentence
Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
The first and innermost darkest shadow is called the umbra (pronounced UM bruh).
—John Tufts, IndyStar, 13 Mar. 2025
After about an hour, a partial eclipse will begin that will be visible to all U.S. residents across the country, followed by the total lunar eclipse beginning when the moon is fully in the Earth’s umbra and turns a coppery red around 2:30 a.m. ET.
—Nick Jachim, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2025
In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra.
—Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for umbra
Cite this Entry
“Umbra.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umbra. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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