Word of the Day

: October 5, 2007

umbra

noun UM-bruh

What It Means

1 : a shaded area

2 a : a conical shadow excluding all light from a given source; specifically : the conical part of the shadow of a celestial body excluding all light from the primary source

b : the central dark part of a sunspot

umbra in Context

During the lunar eclipse, the moon was in the umbra of the earth's shadow for about 90 minutes.

Did You Know?

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." The two senses of "umbrage" influenced "umbrageous," which can mean "inclined to take offense easily" as well as "affording shade."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.