ʌmˈbrelə n. 1 a
light portable device for protection against rain,
strong sun,
etc., consisting of a usu.
circular canopy of
cloth mounted by
means of a collapsible
metal frame on a
central stick. 2 protection or
patronage. 3 (often attrib.) a coordinating or unifying
agency (umbrella organization). 4 a
screen of
fighter aircraft or a
curtain of
fire put up as a protection against
enemy aircraft. 5 Zool.
the gelatinous disc of a
jellyfish etc.,
which it contracts
and expands to
move through the
water. øumbrella
bird any S.
American bird of the
genus Cephalopterus,
with a
black radiating
crest and long wattles. umbrella pine 1 =
stone pine. 2 a
tall Japanese evergreen conifer, Sciadopitys verticillata, with
leaves in umbrella-like whorls. umbrella
stand a stand for
holding closed upright umbrellas. umbrella
tree a
small magnolia, Magnolia tripetala, with leaves in a
whorl like an umbrella. øøumbrellaed adj. umbrella-like adj. [It. ombrella, dimin. of ombra
shade f. L
umbra: see UMBRA]
