umbra

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The Word of the Day for October 5 is:=20

umbra   \UM-bruh\   noun
          1 : a shaded area
     2 *a : a conical shadow excluding all light from a given source; sp=
ecifically : the conical part of the shadow of a celestial body excludin=
g all light from the primary source b : the central dark part of a sunsp=
ot

Example sentence:
          During the lunar eclipse, the moon was in the umbra of the ear=
th's shadow for about 90 minutes.

Did you know?
          The Latin word =E2=80=9Cumbra=E2=80=9D ("shade, shadow") has g=
iven 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 shad=
e or shadow in other =E2=80=9Cumbra=E2=80=9D 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 =E2=80=9Cumbrage=E2=80=9D influenced =E2=80=9Cumbrageous,=E2=80=
=9D which can mean =E2=80=9Cinclined to take offense easily=E2=80=9D as =
well as =E2=80=9Caffording shade.=E2=80=9D





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