umbrella
[uhm-brel-uh]
- 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.
- the saucer- or bowl-shaped, gelatinous body of a jellyfish; bell.
- something that covers or protects from above, as military aircraft safeguarding surface forces: an air umbrella.
- any general kind of protection: a price umbrella.
- something, as an organization or policy, that covers or encompasses a number of groups or elements.
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- shaped like or intended to perform the function of an umbrella.
- 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.
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Origin of umbrella
1600–10; 1965–70 for def 7; < Italian ombrella, earlier variant of ombrello < Late Latin umbrella, alteration (with influence of Latin umbra shade) of Latin umbella sunshade. See umbel
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for umbrella
Contemporary Examples
And that means they also fall under the umbrella of programs most likely to get the axe when state and federal budgets are tight.
The program—weirdly—is now under the umbrella of ABC News, and is suffering from flat ratings and an aging demographic.
The law professor, Benny Tai, urged the students to “retreat and take the spirit of the Umbrella Movement into the community.”
Think of them as the Monuments Men and Women of the Umbrella Movement.
From Carnations to Umbrella, the history and importance of names people give to nonviolent movements.
Historical Examples
And, hanging it over his umbrella, he stalked moodily onward.
President Cleveland held an umbrella over his head as he took the oath.
Bring him to me in the ramada, Jose, and be sure you bring the umbrella.
The stalwart man was buttoned up in a dark overcoat, and carried an umbrella.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
Without hat or umbrella, my companion set off, chatting as we went.
In the Heart of VosgesMatilda Betham-Edwards
umbrella
- a portable device used for protection against rain, snow, etc, and consisting of a light canopy supported on a collapsible metal frame mounted on a central rod
- the flattened cone-shaped contractile body of a jellyfish or other medusa
- a protective shield or screen, esp of aircraft or gunfire
- anything that has the effect of a protective screen or cover
- any system or agency that provides centralized organization or general cover for a group of related companies, organizations, etcdance umbrella
- (as modifier)an umbrella fund; umbrella group
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Word Origin
C17: from Italian ombrella, diminutive of ombra shade; see umbra
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 umbrella
n.
c.1600, first attested in Donne's letters, from Italian ombrello, from Late Latin umbrella, altered (by influence of umbra) from Latin umbella "sunshade, parasol," diminutive 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. Figurative sense of "authority, unifying quality" (usually in a phrase such as under the umbrella of) is recorded from 1948.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper