umbra

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The Word of the Day for October 5 is: 

umbra   \UM-bruh\   noun
          1 : a shaded area
     2 *a : a conical shadow excluding all light from a given source; 
specifically : the conical part of the shadow of a celestial body excluding all 
light from the primary source b : the central dark part of a sunspot

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

Did you know?
          The Latin word “umbra” ("shade, shadow") has given 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 shade or shadow in other “umbra” 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 “umbrage” influenced “umbrageous,” which can mean “inclined to 
take offense easily” as well as “affording shade.”





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