#81717
09/24/2002 7:30 PM
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
Anyone know where this fine word comes from, and why? I looked it up in my Canadian Oxford, and it says:
1 offence; a sense of slight or injury (esp. give or take umbrage at)
2 archaic a shade b what gives shade
and also lists umbrageous as an adj.
and for the whole lot, says [Middle English from Old French, ultimately from Latin umbraticus from umbra: see UMBRA]
So I saw UMBRA, and that says:
1 the fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object, esp. Astronomy the area on the earth or moon experiencing the total phase of an eclipse
2 the dark central part of a sunspot
So how did all that come to mean "take offence"? And also, has anyone here ever heard it used as "giving offence," as the dictionary definition says it can be? - "I gave Sue umbrage when I told her she looked fat in that dress."
Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.
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#81718
09/24/2002 8:06 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Taking umbrage--going into the shadow. Feels like losing face, but sulkingly. Hiding in the comfort of a shadow.
Or: maybe seeking the darkness because that's how you feel.
This is just a gut reaction.
And what about umbrellas? Is it that we put the dark shadow over our heads?
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#81719
09/24/2002 8:32 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,285 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,285 Likes: 2 |
And what about umbrellas? Is it that we put the dark shadow over our heads?
Sure! "-ella" is a diminutive, and we use the umbrella to make a little shade. (But sometimes we call it a "parasol" and use it for the sun.)
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#81720
09/24/2002 9:43 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
I always liked the word penumbra (especially as regards eclipses), not that I get the chance to use it much.  Interesting that you can't give umbrage, only take it. You can be offensive (and someone can take offense), but not umbrageous.
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#81721
09/24/2002 10:02 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Taking umbrage--going into the shadow.
Not bad. OED shows an intermediate form, To stand or be in umbrage, to be in disfavour.
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