Umbrella
/ʌmˈbrɛlə/noun
A portable canopy used for protection against rain or sun.
Did you know?Umbrella comes through Italian *ombrella*, a diminutive of *ombra* (“shade” or “shadow”), ultimately from Latin *umbra*—the same root that gave English *umbra* and *penumbra*, the shadow-words used in eclipses.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
umbra
“shadow, shade”
Medieval Latin
Latin
umbraculum
“a sunshade or sheltering canopy”
Italian
Italian
ombrella
“a little shade; parasol”
16th Century
English
umbrello
“a sunshade or parasol”
17th Century
English
umbrella
“a portable covering for protection from rain or sun”