was it designed and patented by Mr Um brella, or was it a retorical question such as, Q.What do we call this thing that we have invented for keeping the sun and rain from our heads and shoulders? A. Ummmmm how a bout a brella! Also was it a Mr Pa R'sole, that got the patent for bigger Umbrella's hence the name... we need to know! Finally what other items can you think of that have nonesensical sounding names...i.e. sextant...nothing even remotely sexy about a measuring device that you can't even measure your old chap with, unless its miles long....
2007-02-10 00:04:03 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Mr Umbrella was quite a strange chap. Everyone made fun of him at school for his name and he always knew one day he'd be star and shelter the word from unhappiness... until one day he realised this unhappiness would be rain. He wanted to show the bullies he previously had that he was a saviour, a saviour to the ones with beautiful hair styles and a saviour to the ones with expensive non-waterproof coats. Mr Umbrella therefore named his "water shelter" after himself.
The parasel or whatever the spelling for that darn thing is, was just as cool. Pa' R'sole was named by a girl. She loved toys 'R us and always dreamed of having a huge toy company one day. However, she was in the sun oneday and decided to use her umbrella to shelter her face from the sun, her pale skin was always getting burnt because of it! But her umbrella didn't seem to do the trick! It just wasn't big enough. She added material to the sides and used it every summer after that. One day a man realised her design and congratulatd her on it. He told her she could make a lot of money from them. She put the thought away and left it in the garden on the ground... the next morning she went outside to fetch it... her PA WAS STANDING ON IT!!! she couldn't believe it... so she started up a company to make them properly... BIG UMBRELLAS.... her name was pa r'sole. Because her Pa had his sole on it... that was her inspiration..
2007-02-10 00:20:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
good question, but parasol - against the sun. As for the French umbrella, parapluie, - para - against, pluie - rain. So that makes sense.
I like the idea of people saying "umm" and settling on "!brella" and then the name taking off. I heard a similar case that when the first settlers arrived in Australia, they saw a kangaroo bounding by and asked the Aborigines "what's that?". the Aborigines replies in their own language: "kanga roo" meaning "I don't know" and the name stuck. So a kangaroo is really an 'I don't know'.
Hmmm, other odd names, how about stapler? A staple is something essential, such as staple diet. But there is nothing essential about a metalstrip-bending paper clipper, is there? And how do raspberries give their name to someone 'blowing a raspberry' with a rude sound?
You have got us going with your questions!
2007-02-10 08:14:35 · answer #2 · answered by gorgeousfluffpot 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Umbrella is a compound word from 'umbra' meaning shade with the suffix -ella to denote a diminutive form.
Novel -> Novella
In a similar way to Cigarette being a diminutive form of cigar (cigar + -ette) or Towel -> Towelette
Parasol could be Spanish (Para +Sol), literally "For the Sun", a lightweight shading device used by genteel ladies to shade their delicate white skin from the ravages of the midday sun. This at a time when men preferred the alabaster whiteness of an English Rose to the tanned swarthiness of anyone considered to be foreign.
Nowadays we associate tanned skin as a sign of health and vitality.
Para- may also come from some kind of protection device or shield as in Parapet (defend the chest) or Parachute (defend from falling - uncontrolled falling that is)
2007-02-10 08:43:01 · answer #3 · answered by Rob K 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Although the use of the word 'umbra' meaning shade is very good it is not strictly correct. The original derivative was from Italian ombrella, diminutive of ombra, meaning shade. Umbrellas are used to protect from rain.
Parasol comes from two words, para, meaning protection and sol, meaning sun. So the parasol is an umbrella used to shade one from the sun, not the rain.
2007-02-10 08:25:30 · answer #4 · answered by quatt47 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It probably has a root in the latin word "umbra" meaning shade.
Long before umbrellas and parasoles were used to shield the user from rain, they were used to keep the sun off delicate posh skin that fashion dictated should be pale.
Parasol comes from Old Italian "parare" to shield and "sole" sun.
Sextant comes from the latin word for sixty and refers to the sixty degrees that are used in measuring.
2007-02-10 08:12:48 · answer #5 · answered by Fifi L'amour 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Umbrella,,,root word umbra, meaning shadow. An umbrella is a device used to cast a shadow. Get it now?
2007-02-10 08:14:31 · answer #6 · answered by Ricky J. 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The word umbrella is from the Latin word umbra for shade or shadow.
So there you have it!... lol
Jen x
2007-02-10 08:14:40 · answer #7 · answered by Jens 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Check it on Wikipedia or an English dictionary.
2007-02-10 08:17:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Derives from the Latin word "umbra" - to shade
2007-02-10 08:14:08 · answer #9 · answered by kittycymraeg 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are NOT.
There is NO apostrophe in umbrellas.
Not unless you were to say ..the umbrella's colour is black.
2007-02-10 12:15:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋