PENUMBRAE

PENUMBRA

penumbra

(noun) a fringe region of partial shadow around an umbra

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Noun

penumbrae

plural of penumbra

Source: Wiktionary


PENUMBRA

Pe*num"bra, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. paene almost + umbra shade.]

1. An incomplete or partial shadow.

2. (Astron.)

Definition: The shadow cast, in an eclipse, where the light is partly, but not wholly, cut off by the intervening body; the space of partial illumination between the umbra, or perfect shadow, on all sides, and the full light. Sir I. Newton.

Note: The faint shade surrounding the dark central portion of a solar spot is also called the penumbra, and sometimes umbra.

3. (Paint.)

Definition: The part of a picture where the shade imperceptibly blends with the light.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 April 2025

BRIGHT

(adjective) made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow; “bright silver candlesticks”; “a burnished brass knocker”; “she brushed her hair until it fell in lustrous auburn waves”; “rows of shining glasses”; “shiny black patents”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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