Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

umbra

/ˈʌmbɹə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.39 in modern English

Syllables: um-bra
IPA: /ˈʌmbɹə/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object.

noun

The fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object.

noun

The central region of a sunspot.

noun

Literary

noun

An uninvited guest brought along by one who was invited.

Archaic

noun

One of the family Umbridae of mudminnows.

noun

One of genus Umbrina of drums (family Sciaenidae).

noun

An element of the umbral calculus.

Example Sentences

"In order to set up such an algorithm, we need the notion of multiplicative inverse of an umbra. Two umbrae are said to be multiplicative inverse to each other when αγ ≡ u."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin umbra (“shadow”). Doublet of umber.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: umbra

Usage

Inflected Forms

umbras (plural) umbrae (plural) umbræ (obsolete, plural)

Derived Forms

adumbrate antumbra penumbra umbral umbraphile umbration umbrella

Phrases

Bernoulli umbra umbra recta umbra versa

Frequently Paired Words

antumbra penumbra

Rhymes With

penumbra

Questions

How do you pronounce umbra?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʌmbɹə/.
What does umbra mean?: The fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object.
Where does umbra come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce umbra

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “umbra”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʌmbɹə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “umbra”.
Repeat and practice — Say “umbra” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.