# umbrella

Pronunciation: say "um-BREL-uh" /ʌmˈbɹɛl.ə/

## Noun

1. A cloth-covered folding frame that protects you from rain or sun.
   - Simple: A folding device with a cloth top that keeps the rain or sun off you.
   - _He left his umbrella on the train again this morning._
   - _A row of striped umbrellas lined the edge of the beach._
2. A structure or grouping that brings a range of concepts, purposes, or groups together under one overarching cover.
   - Simple: A single thing that covers or includes many different groups or ideas together.
   - _The new foundation acts as an umbrella for dozens of independent research teams._
   - _'Romance languages' serves as an umbrella covering French, Spanish, Italian, and several others._
3. Something that offers protection in the way a physical cover shields what is beneath it.
   - Simple: Something that keeps a person or group safe, like a cover held over them.
   - _Diplomatic immunity served as an umbrella against any local prosecution._
   - _The alliance gave smaller nations an umbrella of military security._
4. A reflector shaped like an open umbrella, with a white or silver inner surface, used to diffuse a nearby light.
   - Simple: A round reflector shaped like an umbrella, used to soften and spread light for photos.
   - _She bounced the flash off a reflective umbrella to soften the shadows on her subject._
   - _Two umbrellas on either side of the set evened out the lighting._
5. The dome-shaped main body of a jellyfish, not including the trailing tentacles.
   - Simple: The rounded main part of a jellyfish, not counting its long tentacles.
   - _The translucent umbrella contracted rhythmically to push the animal upward._
   - _Long stinging tentacles trail from the rim of the jellyfish's umbrella._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To cover or protect something, as if shielding it beneath an open umbrella.
- (verb) To spread outward into the curved dome shape of an open umbrella.
- (noun) A power-play formation in ice hockey with three attackers in a high arc, one at the point and one on each half-wall, while the other two play low near the opposing net.
- (verb) To move with the rhythmic, pulsing drift characteristic of a jellyfish.

## Origin

This word was borrowed from Italian "ombrella" (meaning parasol or sunshade), a diminutive of "ombra" (shade): or possibly from a Late or Medieval Latin "umbrella." It ultimately traces back to Latin "umbra," meaning shadow.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/umbrella (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).