# shade

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃeɪd/ · frequency rank #5,548

## Definitions
1. Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.
2. Something that blocks light, particularly in a window.
3. A variety of a color, in particular one obtained by adding black (compare tint).
4. A subtle variation in a concept.
5. An aspect that is reminiscent of something.
6. A very small degree of a quantity, or variety of meaning
7. A ghost or specter; a spirit.
8. A postage stamp showing an obvious difference in colour/color to the original printing and needing a separate catalogue/catalog entry.
9. Subtle insults.
10. A cover around or above a light bulb, a lampshade.
11. A candle-shade.

## Etymology
From Middle English schade, from Old English sċeadu, sċadu (“shadow; shade”), from Proto-West Germanic *skadu, from Proto-Germanic *skadwaz (“shadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“darkness, shadow”).
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 (“shade, shadow”), Luxembourgish Schiet (“shade, shadow”), Vilamovian siota (“shadow”), Yiddish שאָטן (shotn, “shadow”), Faroese skadda (“thick wet mountain fog”), Icelandic skodda, skoddi (“shadow”), Norwegian Bokmål skodde (“fog, mist”), Norwegian Nynorsk skodde, skåddj, skåidd (“fog; ice fog”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skadus, “shadow”); also Breton skeud (“shadow; reflection; ghost”), Cornish skeus (“shadow; reflection”), Irish scáth (“shadow”), Manx scaa, skæ (“shield; shade, shadow”), Scottish Gaelic sgàth (“shade, shadow”), Latin obscurus (“dark, dusky, shadowy”), Ancient Greek σκότος (skótos, “darkness, gloom”) (whence English scoto-), Belarusian сівы́ (sivý, “grey”), Czech and Slovak sivý (“grey”), Macedonian осој (osoj, “shady place”), Polish siwy (“grey”), Russian си́вый (sívyj, “grey”), Serbo-Croatian сив, siv (“grey”), Slovene osoja (“shady place”), Ukrainian си́вий (sývyj, “grey”), Armenian սեաւ (seaw), սեւ (sew, “black”), Ossetian сау (saw, “black”), Persian سه (sah), سیه (siyah), سیاه (siyâh, “black”), Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, “black”), श्याव (śyāva, “dark”).

## Easily confused with
- **she** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-she)
- **side** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-side)
- **shoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shoe)
- **shed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shed)
- **shaw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shaw)
- **shah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shah)
- **sham** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-sham)
- **shan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shan)
- **shay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shay)
- **shag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shag)
- **shat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shat)
- **state** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-state)
- **space** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-space)
- **share** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-share)
- **stage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-stage)
- **shall** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shall)
- **shape** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shape)
- **shame** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shame)
- **sharp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-sharp)
- **shake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shake)

## Common misspellings (7)
`hsade`, `sahde`, `shadde`, `shaed`, `shdae`, `shhade`, `sshade`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shade