umbrella English · revision 15242

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1609|origins=la umbra}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʌmˈbɹɛl.ə/; /ˈʌm.bɹɛl.ə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|ombrello]] or [[m|it|ombrella]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-lat|umbrella]], altered under the influence of [[m|la|umbra|t=shade, shadow]] from [[la|umbella|t=sunshade, parasol]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a diminutive of [[m|la|umbra]] (see [[umbrage]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A portable shade or canopy: about 1600 in Etymonline, in Donne's letters;^(Etymonline) Barnhart has umbrello in 1610 and umbrella in 1611,^(Barnhart 1988) the date of the OED's first quotation for a sunshade, and the OED has a figurative use, a means of shelter, from 1609.^(OED 1989) An earlier form, umbrel, is in Florio's translation of Montaigne (1603).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An umbrella was at first a sunshade, as in the Mediterranean;^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) in rainy Britain it became a protection against the rain within a few decades, by 1634 in the OED.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) In the late 17th century it was often mentioned as an Oriental or African symbol of rank.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The form umbrello stayed common until the mid-18th century.^(Barnhart 1988) A screen of fighter aircraft protecting troops is from 1941,^(OED 1989) and the sense of something covering many different elements, as in ''an umbrella organization'', is modern.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1603 – umbrel.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610 – umbrello.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1611 – umbrella, a sunshade.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1634 – a rain umbrella.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – an air umbrella.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A portable device for protection against rain, a collapsible [[canopy]] on a central rod.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that covers or protects; in military use, air cover or a screen of fire.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that brings many different elements together under one heading.^(AHD)

+ # The bell-shaped body of a [[jellyfish]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[umbrellaless]]

+ * [[umbrellalike]]

+ * [[subumbrella]]

+ * [[beach umbrella]]

+ * [[umbrella bird]]

+ * [[umbrella palm]]

+ * [[umbrella pine]]

+ * [[umbrella plant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[umbra]]

+ * [[umbrage]]

+ * [[umbel]]

+ * [[umber]]

+ * [[sombre]]

+ * [[penumbra]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}