shadow

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A dark shape made on a surface when something blocks the light.

   My shadow lengthened as the sun began to set.

2. 2
   noun

   An area of darkness where light is blocked.

   She waited quietly in the shadow of the doorway.

3. 3
   verb

   To follow someone closely, often secretly.

   The detective shadowed the suspect for three days.

4. 4
   noun

   A strong, overpowering presence that affects everything around it.

   The children grew up in the shadow of their famous parents.

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”). 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 (“…

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