shadow English · revision 5269

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 900|origins=gem-pro *skadwaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈʃæd.əʊ/, US /ˈʃæd.oʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|shadwe|alt=schadewe, shadwe]], [[inh|ang|sceadwe|alt=sceadwe, sceaduwe]], the oblique case forms of sceadu “shade”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*skadwaz|alt=*skaðwaz]], the source also of Dutch schaduw, German Schatten and Gothic skadus.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Hoad compares Greek skótos “darkness” and Old Irish scáth “shadow”.^(Hoad 1986) Shadow is to [[shade]] as meadow is to mead.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Shadow of death'', a biblical expression: before 900 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Shade, partial darkness caused by something blocking the light, is from before 1220 in the OED, probably before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Anything unreal” is from the early 13th century, and a ghost from the mid-14th.^(Etymonline) The darkness of night is from 1382.^(OED 1989) Many senses come from the idea of something that follows or attends a person.^(Etymonline) A foreshadowing or prefiguration is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) the darker part of a picture from 1486,^(OED 1989) the faintest trace from the 1580s, an imitation from the 1690s, and a spy who follows someone from 1859.^(Etymonline) Gloom or unhappiness, as a figurative shadow, is from 1855,^(OED 1989) Jung's dark side of the personality from 1923,^(OED 1989) and eye shadow from 1936.^(OED 1989) The verb, to shade or protect from light, is from about 1000 in Old English sceadwian,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) to cast a shadow over from the late 14th century, and to follow like a shadow once about 1600 and then again from 1872.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 900 – ''shadow of death''.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1220 – shade, darkness.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-14th century – a ghost.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1486 – in painting.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – the faintest trace.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1859 – a spy who follows.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1872 – verb, to follow secretly.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A dark shape cast on a surface by something that blocks the light.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An area of partial darkness; [[shade]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A very small amount: ''beyond a shadow of a doubt''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A feeling of sadness or a threat: ''cast a shadow over''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Someone who follows another person closely.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To follow someone secretly and closely.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To cast a shadow over something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to a shadow cabinet, the opposition's team of leaders: ''shadow minister''.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[shadower]]

+ * [[shadowless]]

+ * [[shadowlike]]

+ * [[foreshadow]]

+ * [[overshadow]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scoto-]]

+ * [[shade]]

+ * [[shadowy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}