Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Adumbrate

Adumbrate (pronounced a-duhm-breyt or ad-uh m-breyt)

(1) To produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.

(2) To foreshadow; prefigure.

(3) To darken or conceal partially; overshadow.

(4) To give a faint indication of something.

1550s: From the Latin adumbrationem (nominative adumbratio) and adumbratus (shaded), past participle of adumbrare (to cast a shadow upon).  Ultimate root was umbrare (to cast in shadow).  The meaning "to overshadow" is from the 1660s at which time emerged the derived forms adumbrated and adumbrating and related forms are adumbration (noun), adumbrative (adjective) and adumbratively (adverb).

Lindsay Lohan adumberated.  Mercedes-Benz Academy Awards Party, Los Angeles, 2009.

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