Adumbrative

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. tending to foreshadow or hint at something in an obscure or shadowy manner
2. suggesting or implying something indirectly through partial or vague indication
3. giving a dim or incomplete outline that prefigures what is to come

Etymology: "Adumbrative" grows from a painter's term. Latin "adumbrare" meant to shade in a picture or sketch an outline in shadow, from "ad-" ("to") and "umbra" ("shadow"). Roman writers also used it figuratively, for representing something only faintly, so a sketch that gave the rough shape without the detail became the model for a hint that shows only the outline of a meaning. English took the verb "adumbrate" from Latin, keeping both the visual and the figurative senses. The adjective "adumbrative" adds the suffix "-ive," which came into English through French from Latin "-ivus" and turns a verb into a description of something that does the action. An adumbrative remark, then, is one that sketches its point in outline rather than stating it outright.