“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” said the muffled voice on the old radio show. “The Shadow knows,” and he laughed softly. It was a good thing, though, because the Shadow was a secret yet tireless fighter against wickedness and crime. Those who intend harm often dwell in shadows, so as to take the innocent man by surprise, or to hide their own dealings even from themselves.
I’ve always wondered at the fact that our rain guard is rooted in the Latin word for shadow. Ironic that umbrella moved aside for what originally would have meant the same thing through a converse meaning (and which I assume must have entered later through French or Spanish?) the parasol… indeed, other languages have the -umbra word (ombrelle, sombrilla) as well as the more obvious latin derivatives (parasol, paraguas, parapluie) so why in our lovely anglic tongue have we never coined our ‘forain’ , or perhaps ‘frowater’? Mr. Esolen, do tell if thou knowest.
Fascinating as always!
I’ve always wondered at the fact that our rain guard is rooted in the Latin word for shadow. Ironic that umbrella moved aside for what originally would have meant the same thing through a converse meaning (and which I assume must have entered later through French or Spanish?) the parasol… indeed, other languages have the -umbra word (ombrelle, sombrilla) as well as the more obvious latin derivatives (parasol, paraguas, parapluie) so why in our lovely anglic tongue have we never coined our ‘forain’ , or perhaps ‘frowater’? Mr. Esolen, do tell if thou knowest.