Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Adumbrate


adumbrate \ˈa-dəm-ˌbrāt, a-ˈdəm- brāt\ transitive verb: 1. to foreshadow vaguely; intimate,
2. to suggest, disclose or outline partially {adumbrate a plan},
3. overshadow, obscure

Etymology: Latin adumbratus, past participle of adumbrare, from ad- to, toward + umbra shadow

Having never heard this word spoken, would I choose to pronounce it ADumbrate or aDUMbrate? I just don’t know. The second way feels closer to the word's origin in umbra, though... “Toward a shadow.” Sounds sinister.

(You know what? I just rolled the two pronunciations around in my head again, and ADumbrate definitely sounds better.)

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