I. ˈshād noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sceadu; akin to Old High German scato shadow, Gothic skadus, Old Irish scāth shadow, Greek skotos darkness
1.
a. : comparative darkness or obscurity owing to interception of the rays of light : partial or relative darkness caused by the intervention of an opaque body between the space contemplated and the source of light : absence of complete illumination
b. : relative obscurity or retirement
the shade of the convent
qualities cast in the shade
2.
a. : cover provided by the intervention of an opaque body between the space contemplated and the source of heat or light ; especially : shelter from the sun provided by tree foliage
b.
(1) : protective foliage
(2) : protection
3.
a. : a spot not exposed to sunlight : a place sheltered from the sun : ground overshadowed by foliage
having come … to a pleasant shade near a brook — Cedomilj Mijatovic
b. : a secluded retreat : a retired spot : a quiet habitation : an abode sheltered from the world
let us seek out some desolate shade — Shakespeare
4.
a. chiefly dialect : the figure appearing on the part of a surface from which light is cut off : shadow
b. : an evanescent or unreal appearance : a lingering image of something passing away : something that has become reduced almost to nothing
5. shades plural
a. : the shadows which gather as darkness comes on : the growing darkness after sunset
the shades of night were falling fast — H.W.Longfellow
b. : the abode of the dead or of disembodied spirits : netherworld , hades
6.
a. : the soul after its separation from the body : the form of a dead person usually held to be perceptible to the sight although not to the touch : a disembodied spirit : ghost
followed … by the shade of their dead relative — J.G.Frazer
b. : the spirit of a dead or fictional person who would prob. have been startled or horrified by a particular action or situation
7. : something that shades: as
a. : something that intercepts or shelters from light or the direct rays of the sun : something that protects from heat or currents of air : screen , shelter
b. : a protective cover of glass (as for a clock)
c. : a woman's head scarf or veil usually of lace and fashionable during the 18th and 19th centuries
d.
(1) : an appliance of more or less translucent material (as glass, silk, or paper) used chiefly to diminish or to interrupt the flux of a lamp in directions where it is not wanted — compare reflector
(2) : an appliance (as a globe) for protecting a flame or arc lamp from air currents
e. : a device or covering designed to protect the eyes from light — see eyeshade , sunshade
f. : a protective colored or smoked glass interposed between the eye and a bright light (as of the sun)
g. : a flexible screen usually mounted on a roller and used to obstruct or regulate light passing through a window or to obstruct the view through a window from within or without
h. : a usually temporary structure open at the sides and providing shelter especially from the sun
8.
a. : the reproduction of the effect of shade in painting or drawing (as by closely repeated lines or by adding a darker or lighter pigment to a given hue or tint) : absence of complete illumination as represented pictorially
b. : the part of a picture in which shade is represented : the darker color expressing absence of illumination
c.
(1) : a subdued or somber feature or quality (as of a work of art) — often used in plural
lights and shades of the work were captured by the pianist
(2) : a defect of character
implacable resentment is a shade in a character — Jane Austen
9.
a. : a color produced by a pigment or dye mixture having some black pigment or dye in it — compare tint
b. : a color slightly different from the one under consideration
c. : a dye color different from the color under consideration in some way not attributable to variation in strength of the dye used to produce that color
10.
a. : a minute difference or variation (as of thought, belief, or expression) : nuance
leaders of varying shades of political opinion — Drew Middleton
quibble over shades of meaning — Lewis Nichols
b. : the quality or degree of something which is distinguished from others of like kind by slight differences
c. : a minute degree or quantity : a faint adumbration : a minute qualifying infusion : tinge
dropped her voice a shade — Walter O'Meara
sung a shade too loud — Ann M. Lingg
societies only a shade less complicated than our own — Ralph Linton
11. archaic : silhouette
12. : a facial expression of sadness or displeasure : cloud
a shade of displeasure on his brow — Sir Walter Scott
a shade of disappointment seemed to cross his face — Yankee
13. : a shutter in the swell box of a pipe organ
Synonyms: see color
•
- in the shade
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English shaden, from shade, n.
transitive verb
1.
a. : to shelter or screen by intercepting radiated light or heat : keep off illumination from : protect from glare or heat
deep porches shaded with bright awnings — American Guide Series: Arkansas
he shaded his eyes with his hands
b. obsolete : to place in the shade : shelter from light or heat
the cattle … lie and shade themselves under their boughs — William Ellis
c. : to cover with a shade
shade a lamp
2. : to hide partly by or as if by a shadow : conceal from view : disguise , screen , veil
3. : to darken with or as if with a shadow
a melancholy smile shaded his face — Sir Walter Scott
4.
a. : to cast into the shade (as by some exhibition of superiority) : surpass by a shade : eclipse , overshadow
a port which is attractive to liners … tends to shade neighboring ports — F.W.Morgan
b. : to dim the brightness or luster of (as good qualities) : obscure
5.
a. : to represent the effect of shade or shadow on (an object)
b. : to add shading to (as a drawing or painting)
c. : to color so that the shades pass gradually from one to another
d. : to mark with gradations of light or color
6. : to change by gradual transition or qualification
7. : to reduce slightly (as the price of anything)
8. : to lower the pitch of (an open organ pipe) by an octave by closing its top
9. : to make (a bid, double, or redouble) in a card game on slightly less than the strength usually required
intransitive verb
1. : to pass by slight changes or imperceptible degrees into something else
work and play shade into each other — H.E.Scudder
the level … cast shades off into the mountains — G.G.Coulton
2. : to undergo or exhibit minute difference or variation (as of color, value, meaning, or expression)
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English (northern dialect) schaden to distinguish, from Old English scēadan, scādan to divide, separate — more at shed
chiefly Scotland : to make a part in (as the hair)
IV. noun
shades plural : sunglasses