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Umbrella
7 dictionary results for: Umbrella
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
um·brel·la 
[uhm-brel-uh] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[uhm-brel-uh] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | a light, small, portable, usually circular cover for protection from rain or sun, consisting of a fabric held on a collapsible frame of thin ribs radiating from the top of a carrying stick or handle. |
| 2. | the saucer- or bowl-shaped, gelatinous body of a jellyfish; bell. |
| 3. | something that covers or protects from above, as military aircraft safeguarding surface forces: an air umbrella. |
| 4. | any general kind of protection: a price umbrella. |
| 5. | something, as an organization or policy, that covers or encompasses a number of groups or elements. |
| 6. | shaped like or intended to perform the function of an umbrella. |
| 7. | having the quality or function of covering or applying simultaneously to a number of similar items, elements, or groups: an umbrella organization; umbrella coverage in an insurance policy. |
[Origin: 1600–10; 1965–70 for def. 7; < It ombrella, earlier var. of ombrello < LL umbrella, alter. (with influence of L umbra shade) of L umbella sunshade. See umbel]
] —Related forms
um·brel·la·less, adjective
um·brel·la·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| um·brel·la
(ŭm-brěl'ə) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Italian ombrella, from Late Latin umbrella, alteration (influenced by umbra, shade) of Latin umbella, parasol; see umbel.] um·brel'la·less adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
umbrella
umbrella
1609, first attested in Donne's letters, from It. ombrello, from L.L. umbrella, altered (by influence of umbra) from L. umbella "sunshade, parasol," dim. of umbra "shade, shadow" (see umbrage). A sunshade in the Mediterranean, a shelter from the rain in England; in late 17c. usage, usually as an Oriental or African symbol of dignity. Said to have been used by women in England from c.1700; the first rain-umbrella carried by a man there was traditionally c.1760, by Jonas Hathaway, noted traveler and philanthropist. Fig. sense of "authority, unifying quality" (usually in a phrase such as under the umbrella of) is recorded from 1948.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| umbrella | |
adjective | |
| 1. | covering or applying simultaneously to a number of similar items or elements or groups; "an umbrella organization"; "umbrella insurance coverage" |
noun | |
| 1. | a lightweight handheld collapsible canopy |
| 2. | a formation of military planes maintained over ground operations or targets; "an air umbrella over England" |
| 3. | having the function of uniting a group of similar things; "the Democratic Party is an umbrella for many liberal groups"; "under the umbrella of capitalism" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: um·brel·la
Function: adjective
: being or relating to a supplemental insurance policy that extends the coverage of an underlying policy on the samerisk <an umbrella policy> <umbrella liability insurance>
Main Entry: um·brel·la
Function: adjective
: being or relating to a supplemental insurance policy that extends the coverage of an underlying policy on the samerisk <an umbrella policy> <umbrella liability insurance>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Umbrella
Um"bel\, n. [L. umbella a little shadow, umbrella, dim. of umbra shade. See Umbrella.] (Bot.) A kind of flower cluster in which the flower stalks radiate from a common point, as in the carrot and milkweed. It is simple or compound; in the latter case, each peduncle bears another little umbel, called umbellet, or umbellule.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
umbrella
umbrella: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB
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