adumbration

Etymology

Comes from Latin adumbrātiō (“sketch; outline, silhouette; pretence, semblance”) plus -ion (suffix indicating a condition or state). Adumbrātiō itself derives from adumbrāre (present active infinitive of adumbrō, “to represent an object with light and shade, to shade; to represent in outline, to outline, silhouette, sketch; to cast a shadow on, overshadow, shade; to copy, counterfeit, imitate”) plus -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results). Adumbrō in turn derives from ad- (prefix meaning ‘to, towards’) plus umbrō (“to cast a shadow, to shade; to overshadow”), from umbra (“shade; shadow; ghost”).