ETYM Italian umbrella, from ombra a shade, Latin umbra; cf. Latin umbella a sunshade, a parasol. Related to Umbel, Umbrage.
1. A lightweight handheld collapsible shelter.
2. Having the function of uniting a group of similar things.
3. A formation of military planes maintained over ground operations or targets.
Portable protection against the rain (when used in the sun it is usually called a parasol or sunshade). In use in China for more than a thousand years, umbrellas were also held over the rulers of ancient Egypt and Assyria as symbols of power and had a similar significance for Aztec and African rulers and dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church. + prikaži više