umbra Latin · revision 5051

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈʊm.bra]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈum.bra]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''umbra''' ''f'' (genitive umbrae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It is generally compared with [[lt|ùnksna|t=shade]] and [[lt|unksmė̃|t=shade]] and reconstructed as *unksrā-.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) No other word has the cluster *-nksr-, but by comparison with [[tēmō]] from *tenksmōn, de Vaan thinks *unksrā- could have become *unsrā-, *unfrā- and then ''umbra''; the only matching root, *wenk- “to bend”, is unlikely in meaning.^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary also mentions an Old Latin *omra from *h₂mr-u-, related to [[grc|ἀμαυρός|tr=amaurós|t=dim]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008) who uses it of pleasant shade in summer.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its first sense was the shadow cast by a body that blocks the sun; it then also meant a shaded outline, the shelter of a tree and the foliage that gives it, and comparative darkness in general.^(OLD 2012) A shadow that always follows a person gave the sense of an uninvited guest brought along by an invited one.^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline) Figuratively it was protection, as “under the shadow of an alliance”, and the overshadowing fame of a greater person.^(OLD 2012) It also meant a sheltered, private life (opposed to public action), the darkness of night, and the disembodied ghost of the dead; in the plural it was the underworld.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In Christian Latin it was an allegory or prefiguration.^(Niermeyer 1976) It survives in [[it|ombra]], [[fr|ombre]] and [[es|sombra]].^(Wiktionary) [[en|umbra]] meant a phantom in the 1590s and the shadow of the earth or moon in an eclipse by the 1670s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of shade in summer.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of the ghosts of the dead.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the shade of a plane tree and of a retired life.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * Middle Ages – It is used of an allegory or prefiguration.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ * 1590s – English ''umbra'' “phantom, ghost” is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|shadow]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A shadowy companion; an uninvited guest brought along by an invited one.^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline)

+ # A shaded outline, mere semblance.^(OLD 2012)

+ # [[m|en|shade]] (of a tree); shelter, protection.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Comparative darkness; a darker area of colour.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A sheltered or private life, retirement.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The darkness of night.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A [[m|en|ghost]], shade of the dead, ''(plural)'' the [[m|en|underworld]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' An [[m|en|allegory]], prefiguration.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[umbella]]

+ * [[umbrāculum]]

+ * [[umbrāticus]]

+ * [[umbrātilis]]

+ * [[umbrifer]]

+ * [[umbrō]]

+ * [[umbrōsus]]

+ * [[umbrāliter]]

+ * [[umbrāticola]]

+ * [[umbrēscō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[umbrātiō]]

+ * [[en|umbrage]]

+ * [[en|umbrella]]

+ * [[en|sombrero]]

+ * [[en|penumbra]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Isidore defines a shadow as air lacking the sun, formed when a body is set against its rays.^(Isidore)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}