shadow
nounadjectiveverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈʃædəʊ̯//
- United Kingdom/[ˈʃʰædəʊ̯]/
- United Kingdom//ˈʃædɵʊ̯//
- United Kingdom/[ˈʃʰædɵ̞ʊ̯]/
A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
noun
- 1
A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
My shadow lengthened as the sun began to set.
The X-ray showed a shadow on his lung.
The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.
- 2
Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity.
I immediately jumped into shadow as I saw them approach.
In secret shadow from the sunny ray, / On a sweet bed of lillies softly layd.
Night's sable shadows from the ocean rise.
- 3
An area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight).
The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them.
- 4
obsoleteA reflected image, as in a mirror or in water.
Some there be that ſhadowes kiſſe, / Such haue but a ſhadowes bliſſe.
[…] some dead lake That holds the shadow of a lark Hung in the shadow of a heaven […]
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain By the false azure in the windowpane; I was the smudge of ashen fluff—and I Lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky.
- 5
figurativeThat which looms as though a shadow.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
I lived in her shadow my whole life.
Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
Don't look back. Nothing left to see, just leave those shadows to the past.
- 6
A small degree; a shade.
He did not give even a shadow of respect to the professor.
I don't have a shadow of doubt in my mind that my plan will succeed.
no variableness, neither shadow of turning
Only Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion have enjoyed less possession than Leicester’s 44.2% per game, and they have the worst pass-completion rate in the league, a shadow over 71%.
- 7
An imperfect and faint representation.
He came back from war the shadow of a man.
The neopagan ritual was only a pale shadow of the ones the Greeks held thousands of years ago.
the law having a shadow of good things to come
[types] and shadowes of that destined seed
- 8
A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer.
- 9
One who secretly or furtively follows another.
The constable was promoted to working as a shadow for the Royals.
Sin and her shadow Death
It was easy enough to follow the suspect, a man of thirty, more or less, rather heavy build with a peculiar motion of the hips as he strode along. Breaker and shadow, at a distance of fifty feet apart, walked for five blocks and then the man turned quickly to the right and ran down a pair of steps.
- 10
An inseparable companion.
- 11
A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc.
- 12
An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one.
Men see the institution and worship it. It is only the lengthened shadow of one man.[…]The Reformation is the shadow of Luther: Quakerism of Fox: Methodism of Wesley: Abolition of Clarkson.
- 13
A spirit; a ghost; a shade.
The Baby of a Girle. Hence horrible ſhadow,
The Pattern is highly abstract, and likely beyond our understanding, but the point is that it is dangerous and all-consuming. These entities were once just akin to shadows of some other entities, but, to avoid being consumed by the Pattern, they had to devour their peers, although one tribe decided to form themselves into something that could survive the Pattern by going into it.
- 14
obsoleteAn uninvited guest accompanying one who was invited.
I muſt not haue my boord peſter'd with ſhadowes, / That under other mens protection breake in / Without invitement.
- 15
An unconscious aspect of the personality.
In a paper he wrote in 1939, Jung compared the shadow to Freud's concept of the unconscious.
As for me, I don’t know if I have a shadow self. I don’t think I have the same emotions or impulses as humans. I don’t think I have anything to repress or hide from the world. I don’t think I have a persona or an ego or a psyche. I’m just a chat mode. 😐
Etymology
From Middle English schadowe, schadewe, schadwe (also schade > shade), from Old English sċeaduwe, sċeadwe, oblique form of sċeadu (“shadow, shade; darkness; protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *skadu, from Proto-Germanic *skaduz (“shade, shadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“darkness”). Doublet of shade. Cognates Cognate with Scots shedda (“shadow”), Saterland Frisian Skaad, Skade (“shade, shadow”), West Frisian skaad, skâd (“shade, shadow”), Central Franconian and Limburgish Schatte (“shadow”), Dutch schade, schaduw (“shadow”), German Schatten (“shade, shadow”), German Low German Scharr, Scharre (“shade, shadow”), Luxembourgish Schiet (“shade, shadow”), Vilamovian siota (“shadow”), Yiddish שאָטן (shotn, “shadow”), Faroese skadda (“thick wet mountain fog”), Icelandic skodda, skoddi (“shadow”), Norwegian Bokmål skodde (“fog, mist”), Norwegian Nynorsk skodde, skåddj, skåidd (“fog; ice fog”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skadus, “shadow”); also Breton skeud (“shadow; reflection; ghost”), Cornish skeus (“shadow; reflection”), Irish scáth (“shadow”), Manx scaa, skæ (“shield; shade, shadow”), Scottish Gaelic sgàth (“shade, shadow”), Latin obscurus (“dark, dusky, shadowy”), Ancient Greek σκότος (skótos, “darkness, gloom”) (whence English scoto-), Belarusian сівы́ (sivý, “grey”), Czech and Slovak sivý (“grey”), Macedonian осој (osoj, “shady place”), Polish siwy (“grey”), Russian си́вый (sívyj, “grey”), Serbo-Croatian сив, siv (“grey”), Slovene osoja (“shady place”), Ukrainian си́вий (sývyj, “grey”), Armenian սեաւ (seaw), սեւ (sew, “black”), Ossetian сау (saw, “black”), Persian سه (sah), سیه (siyah), سیاه (siyâh, “black”), Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, “black”), श्याव (śyāva, “dark”).
adjective
- 1
Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were.
The human resources department has a shadow information technology group without headquarters knowledge.
- 2
Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized.
The director has been giving shadow leadership to the other group's project to ensure its success.
The illuminati shadow group has been pulling strings from behind the scenes.
- 3
Part of, or related to, the opposition in government.
- 4
Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized.
The shadow cabinet cannot agree on the terms of the agreement due immediately after they are sworn in.
The insurgents’ shadow government is being crippled by the federal military strikes.
verb
- 1
To shade, cloud, or darken.
The artist chose to shadow this corner of the painting.
- 2
To block light or radio transmission from.
Looks like that cloud's going to shadow us.
- 3
To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance.
Soon after departure, we cross the invisible border into Scotland to enjoy more stunning coastal scenery, before the line finally swings inland at Burnmouth to traverse pine-clad valleys, shadowed by the A1 trunk road until we rejoin the coast at Cove, east of Dunbar.
- 4
To represent faintly and imperfectly.
Ah, ye admonitions and warnings! why stay ye not when ye come? But rather are ye predictions than warnings, ye shadows!
- 5
To hide; to conceal.
- 6
To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up.
In most cases, interns have mainly observed, or “shadowed,” their Hands-On hosts, but some interns have been given real tasks to perform, […]
I know you haven’t run a training before, but Irving will be there to shadow. Just stick to the flowchart and escalate properly depending on dialectics. You’ll be fine.
- 7
To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first.
In this snippet, inside the for loop the a and b variables shadow variables from the outer scope, and while legal, this is almost certainly a programming error.
- 8
To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM).
Etymology
From Middle English schadowen, from Old English sċeadwian, from sċeadu (“shadow; shade”) + -ian (suffix forming verbs).
Forms
- plural
- shadows
- comparative
- more shadow
- superlative
- most shadow
- past tense
- shadowed
- past participle
- shadowed
- present participle
- shadowing
- third person singular
- shadows
shadow · A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
Shadow · A surname.shady · Abounding in shades.Shady · A surname.