Scead

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the dark area cast by an object that blocks light, or the faint shade that such an outline creates
2. An old word meaning shade or shadow, the dimness produced where light is kept off a surface by something in its path
3. A rare, obsolete noun denoting shelter from sunlight or the darkened patch that falls behind a solid body

Etymology: Old English speakers had a single word for both the cool patch under a tree and the dark shape a body throws on the ground, and "shadow" is the same word in a different grammatical form. The Old English "sceadu" was a neuter noun, and its oblique forms, used after prepositions and in certain grammatical positions, became "sceaduwe." Over the centuries the form ending in "-w-" grew into "shadow," while the shorter form became "shade." So "shade" and "shadow" are two survivals of one ancient noun. "Scead" is an older, more poetic-looking spelling of that same root, found in early English writing and kept alive in verse long after everyday speech had settled on "shade." It is cognate with German "Schatten" and Dutch "schaduw," which show the word's shared Germanic ancestry. Its meaning has stayed remarkably steady: a place or area where light is blocked, and the darkness that results.