A.Word.A.Day --penumbra

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Today's Word

penumbra

PRONUNCIATION:

(pi/puh-NUHM-bruh)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A surrounding area or fringe, a zone of influence or activity that is less distinct or certain.
2. A partly shaded region between fully dark and fully lit.
3. The diffuse area around the dark central area of a sunspot.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin paene (almost) + umbra (shadow). Earliest documented use: 1665.

USAGE:

“If the mainstream debate is robust, its penumbra is toxic.”
Arguing Over Iran; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 5, 2015.

See more usage examples of penumbra in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I am only one, / But still I am one. / I cannot do everything, / But still I can do something; / And because I cannot do everything, / I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. -Edward Everett Hale, author (3 Apr 1822-1909)

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