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parasol

[par-uh-sawl, -sol]
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noun
  1. a lightweight umbrella used, especially by women, as a sunshade.
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Origin of parasol

1610–20; < French, Middle French < Italian parasole. See para-2, Sol
Related formspar·a·soled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

canopy, sunshade

Examples from the Web for parasol

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • On the door-step she paused, with her parasol open, and considered.

  • She broke off with a little laugh, and looked at him beneath the shade of her parasol.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • "Then you will not speak," she said, opening her parasol with a snap.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • Jennie sat tracing a pattern on the dusty floor with the point of her parasol.

  • The parasol being arranged to her liking, she glanced up at him.

British Dictionary definitions for parasol

parasol

noun
  1. an umbrella used for protection against the sun; sunshade
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Word Origin

C17: via French from Italian parasole, from para- ² + sole sun, from Latin sōl
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for parasol

n.

1610s, from Middle French parasol (1570s), from Italian parasole, literally "protection from the sun," from para- "defense against" (see para- (2)) + sole "sun," from Latin solem (nominative sol; see sol).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper