Etymologically
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umbrage

Etymology and origin of the English word umbrage

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Old French ombrage

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈʌm.bɹɪd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English umbrage “shade”,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French ombrage (“shade, shadow”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin umbraticum,[2][3][4][6] the neuter of umbraticus “of shade”,[2][3][4][6] from Latin umbra (“shade, shadow”).[2][3][4][6] It is related to umbrella and umbra.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Shade or shadow (1426).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was especially used of the shade of trees, and of their foliage.[4][7] It had many figurative uses in the 17th century.[4][7] From 1604 it meant a shadowy appearance or faint trace of something,[3][7] and by 1620 a suspicion that one has been slighted,[3][4] from the notion of being overshadowed by another.[4] So to take umbrage, recorded from the 1670s or 1680,[4][3] means to take offence.[2][6][5] Etymonline compares the modern slang throw shade (by 2013).[4]

Timeline

  • 1426 – shade, shadow.[7][3]
  • 1540–1 – shade cast by trees.[7]
  • 1604 – a shadowy appearance or trace.[7][3]
  • 1620 – resentment at a slight.[3]
  • 1624 – a feeling of suspicion or doubt (obsolete).[7]
  • 1657 – foliage affording shade.[7]
  • 1680 – take umbrage at.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Offence or resentment, especially at a supposed slight, chiefly in take umbrage.
  2. Shade or shadow, or foliage that gives shade.
  3. A vague indication or hint; a slight suspicion.

Word family

  • umbrageous
  • umbrella
  • umbra
  • penumbra
  • sombre

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Umbrage.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/umbrage. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·