Sceaduwe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An Old English noun for the dark area cast on a surface when an object blocks the light falling on it
2. Old English term for the shade or dim patch produced when something stands between a source of light and the ground
3. A word from Old English meaning the darkened shape or shade that an object throws when light is obstructed

Etymology: Here "sceaduwe" is a case form of the Old English noun "sceadu," which meant shade, darkness, or shelter. It is the form used after prepositions, as in "under the sceaduwe of" someone, and to be "in someone's shade" in this sense was to be sheltered and protected by them. The Psalms phrase "under the shadow of thy wings" preserves that protective meaning. The noun comes from Proto-Germanic "*skadwō," and behind that lies a prehistoric Indo-European root for darkness, which also gave Greek "skotos" (darkness). Because shade and shelter overlapped so closely, the English word could mean both a patch of darkness and a place of safety, and the sense of a dark image cast by a blocked light grew out of that shade meaning.

Synonyms: shade, gloom, darkness

Antonyms: light, brightness