parasol

[par-uh-sawl, -sol]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parasol ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a lightweight umbrella used, especially by women, as a sunshade.

RELATED WORDS

canopy, sunshade

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for parasol

Contemporary Examples of parasol

The parasol is very heavy, 1468 grams [3 pounds], and difficult to hold upright so the Queen probably never used it.
From the Anti-Rape Bra to Chastity Belts: How Women Use Clothing for Protection
Soraya Roberts
June 5, 2013

Historical Examples of parasol

On the door-step she paused, with her parasol open, and considered.
Quaint Courtships
Various
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.
Jennie Baxter, Journalist
Robert Barr
The parasol being arranged to her liking, she glanced up at him.
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for parasol

parasol

noun

an umbrella used for protection against the sun; sunshade

Word Origin for parasol

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

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).