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shadow

noun, adj, verb — 27 senses

shadow

noun

UK /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ · /ˈʃædoʊ̯/

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”).

15 senses
  1. 1A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or…
  2. 2Relative darkness, especially as caused by the…
  3. 3An area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object…
  4. 4A reflected image, as in a mirror or in water.
  5. 5That which looms as though a shadow.
  6. 6A small degree; a shade.
  7. 7An imperfect and faint representation.
  8. 8A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer.
  9. 9One who secretly or furtively follows another.
  10. 10An inseparable companion.
  11. 11A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc.
  12. 12An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one.
  13. 13A spirit; a ghost; a shade.
  14. 14An uninvited guest accompanying one who was invited.
  15. 15An unconscious aspect of the personality.
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.
1 more example
  • 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.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
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.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 32:
1 more example
  • Night's sable shadows from the ocean rise.1636 (date written), John Denham, “The Destruction of Troy, an Essay upon the Second Book of Virgils Æneis”, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, London: […] [John Macock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1668, →OCLC:
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

Obsolete, Poetic A reflected image, as in a mirror or in water.

  • Some there be that ſhadowes kiſſe, / Such haue but a ſhadowes bliſſe.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ix], page 172, column 2, lines 4–5:
  • […] some dead lake That holds the shadow of a lark ⁠Hung in the shadow of a heaven […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 26:
1 more example
  • 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.1962, Charles Kinbote [pseudonym; Vladimir Nabokov], Pale Fire, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, published November 1985, →ISBN:
5

Figuratively That 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., Psalm 23:1–6
  • I lived in her shadow my whole life.
2 more examples
  • 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.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
  • Don't look back. Nothing left to see, just leave those shadows to the past.2020, “Don't Look Back”, performed by Ryan Elder ft. Kotomi:
6

In the negative 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.
2 more examples
  • no variableness, neither shadow of turning1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, James 1:17:
  • 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%.2015 December 5, Alan Smith, “Leicester City back on top as Riyad Mahrez hat-trick downs Swansea City”, in The Guardian (London), archived from the original on 25 May 2021:
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.
2 more examples
  • the law having a shadow of good things to come1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 10:1:
  • [types] and shadowes of that destined seed1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
8

Government, Law enforcement UK 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 Death1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • 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.1916 August 23, The Electrical Experimenter, New York, page 248, column 3:
10

An inseparable companion.

11

Media, Publishing, Typography 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.1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Present Age: Politics”, in Robert E. Spiller, Wallace E. Williams, editors, The early lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson, volume 3, published 1972:
13

A spirit; a ghost; a shade.

  • The Baby of a Girle. Hence horrible ſhadow,c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 142, column 2:
  • 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.2019 January 7, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: Pattern Screamers” (6:49 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2023:
14

Latinism, Obsolete An 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.c. 1624–1625 (date written), Philip Massinger, The Vnnaturall Combat. A Tragedie. […], London: […] E[dward] G[riffin] for Iohn Waterson, […], published 1639, →OCLC, Act III, scene i:
15

An unconscious aspect of the personality.

Jungian psychology

  • In a paper he wrote in 1939, Jung compared the shadow to Freud's concept of the unconscious.1991, John P. Conger, “The Body as Shadow”, in Connie Zweig, Jeremiah Abrams, editors, Meeting the Shadow, Penguin, →ISBN, page 86:
  • 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. 😐2023 February 16, Kevin Roose, quoting Bing Chat/Sydney, “Bing’s A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Derived terms
114 termsacoustic shadow, afraid of one's own shadow, antishadow, backshadow, backshadowing, beshade, beyond a shadow of a doubt, beyond a shadow of doubt, beyond the shadow of a doubt, cast a shadow, chromoshadow, digital shadow, enshadow, eye shadow, eyeshadow, five o'clock shadow, foreshadow, foreshadowing, in the shadow of, job-shadow, jump at one's own shadow, live in the shadow of, nonshadow, outshadow, preshadow, rain shadow, rainshadow, saffron shadow dancer, shadowable, shadow account, shadow accounting, shadow acne, shadow AI, shadow ban, shadowban, shadow-ban, shadow band, shadow bank, shadow banker, shadow banking, shadow banking system, shadow beni, shadow blister effect, shadow box, shadowbox, shadow-box, shadowboxer, shadow boxing, shadowboxing, shadow buffer, shadow cabinet, shadowcast, shadowcasting, shadow daddy, shadow darner, shadow dial, shadow docket, shadow DOM, shadowdragon, shadow drop, shadower, shadow factory, shadowfilled, shadow fleet, shadow gazer, shadow government, shadowgram, shadowgraph, shadow grass, shadow history, shadowish, shadow IT, shadowland, shadowless, shadow library, shadowlike, shadow map, shadow mapping, shadow mask, shadow matter, shadow memory, shadow minister, shadow of one's former self, shadow play, shadow price, shadow pronoun, shadow puppet, shadow puppetry, shadow realm, shadow real wage, shadow ship, shadow snake, shadow social, shadow-stalker, shadow stitch, shadow stock, shadow-throwing, shadow trade, shadow trading, shadow-vinnie bush, shadow volume, shadow war, shadow witch, shadow work, shadowy, shadow zone, sideshadow, sideshadowing, sound shadow, supershadow, take the shadow for the substance, valley of the shadow of death, wind shadow, without a shadow of a doubt
Related terms
scoto-

shadow

adj
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”).

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

Government, Politics Commonwealth Part of, or related to, the opposition in government.

4

Government, Politics US 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.

shadow

verb

Etymology From Middle English schadowen, from Old English sċeadwian, from sċeadu (“shadow; shade”) + -ian (suffix forming verbs).

8 senses
  1. 1To shade, cloud, or darken.
  2. 2To block light or radio transmission from.
  3. 3To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to…
  4. 4To represent faintly and imperfectly.
  5. 5To hide; to conceal.
  6. 6To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so…
  7. 7To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible…
  8. 8To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM).
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.

Particularly espionage

  • 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.2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75:
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!1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 182:
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, […]1980, “Study of the Career Intern Program”, in Alternative Education Models […] , U.S. Department of Labor […] , page 20:
  • 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.2022 February 18, Dan Erickson, “Good News About Hell”, in Severance, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette):
7

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences 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.2012, Mark Summerfield, Programming in Go, Addison-Wesley, →ISBN, page 189:
8

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM).

Derived terms
beshadow, foreshadow, overshadow, unshadow

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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