From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
shade
n 1: relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by
an opaque body; "it is much cooler in the shade";
"there's too much shadiness to take good photographs"
[syn: shadiness, shadowiness]
2: a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a
primary color; "after several trials he mixed the shade of
pink that she wanted" [syn: tint, tincture, tone]
3: protective covering that protects something from direct
sunlight; "they used umbrellas as shades"; "as the sun
moved he readjusted the shade"
4: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude;
"without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy
the humor"; "don't argue about shades of meaning" [syn:
nuance, nicety, subtlety, refinement]
5: a position of relative inferiority; "an achievement that
puts everything else in the shade"; "his brother's success
left him in the shade"
6: a slight amount or degree of difference; "a tad too
expensive"; "not a tad of difference"; "the new model is a
shade better than the old one" [syn: tad]
7: a mental representation of some haunting experience; "he
looked like he had seen a ghost"; "it aroused specters
from his past" [syn: ghost, spook, wraith,
specter, spectre]
8: a representation of the effect of shade in a picture or
drawing (as by shading or darker pigment)
v 1: cast a shadow over [syn: shadow, shade off]
2: represent the effect of shade or shadow on [syn: fill in]
3: protect from light, heat, or view; "Shade your eyes when you
step out into the bright sunlight"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shade \Shade\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shaded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Shading.]
1. To shelter or screen by intercepting the rays of light; to
keep off illumination from. --Milton.
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I went to crop the sylvan scenes,
And shade our altars with their leafy greens.
--Dryden.
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2. To shelter; to cover from injury; to protect; to screen;
to hide; as, to shade one's eyes.
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Ere in our own house I do shade my head. --Shak.
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3. To obscure; to dim the brightness of.
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Thou shad'st
The full blaze of thy beams. --Milton.
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4. To pain in obscure colors; to darken.
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5. To mark with gradations of light or color.
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6. To present a shadow or image of; to shadow forth; to
represent. [Obs.]
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[The goddess] in her person cunningly did shade
That part of Justice which is Equity. --Spenser.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shade \Shade\ (sh[=a]d), n. [OE. shade, shadewe, schadewe, AS.
sceadu, scead; akin to OS. skado, D. schaduw, OHG. scato,
(gen. scatewes), G. schatten, Goth. skadus, Ir. & Gael.
sgath, and probably to Gr. sko`tos darkness. [root]162. Cf.
Shadow, Shed a hat.]
1. Comparative obscurity owing to interception or
interruption of the rays of light; partial darkness caused
by the intervention of something between the space
contemplated and the source of light.
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Note: Shade differs from shadow as it implies no particular
form or definite limit; whereas a shadow represents in
form the object which intercepts the light. When we
speak of the shade of a tree, we have no reference to
its form; but when we speak of measuring a pyramid or
other object by its shadow, we have reference to its
form and extent.
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2. Darkness; obscurity; -- often in the plural.
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The shades of night were falling fast. --Longfellow.
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3. An obscure place; a spot not exposed to light; hence, a
secluded retreat.
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Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there
Weep our sad bosoms empty. --Shak.
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4. That which intercepts, or shelters from, light or the
direct rays of the sun; hence, also, that which protects
from heat or currents of air; a screen; protection;
shelter; cover; as, a lamp shade.
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The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. --Ps.
cxxi. 5.
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Sleep under a fresh tree's shade. --Shak.
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Let the arched knife well sharpened now assail the
spreading shades of vegetables. --J. Philips.
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5. Shadow. [Poetic.]
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Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue. --Pope.
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6. The soul after its separation from the body; -- so called
because the ancients it to be perceptible to the sight,
though not to the touch; a spirit; a ghost; as, the shades
of departed heroes.
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Swift as thought the flitting shade
Thro' air his momentary journey made. --Dryden.
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7. (Painting, Drawing, etc.) The darker portion of a picture;
a less illuminated part. See Def. 1, above.
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8. Degree or variation of color, as darker or lighter,
stronger or paler; as, a delicate shade of pink.
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White, red, yellow, blue, with their several
degrees, or shades and mixtures, as green only in by
the eyes. --Locke.
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9. A minute difference or variation, as of thought, belief,
expression, etc.; also, the quality or degree of anything
which is distinguished from others similar by slight
differences; as, the shades of meaning in synonyms.
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New shades and combinations of thought. --De
Quincey.
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Every shade of religious and political opinion has
its own headquarters. --Macaulay.
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The Shades, the Nether World; the supposed abode of souls
after leaving the body.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shade \Shade\ (sh[=a]d), v. i. [See Shade, n.]
To undergo or exhibit minute difference or variation, as of
color, meaning, expression, etc.; to pass by slight changes;
-- used chiefly with a preposition, as into, away, off.
This small group will be most conveniently treated with
the emotional division, into which it shades. --Edmund
Gurney.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]