The Collaborative International Dictionary
Umbrella \Um*brel"la\, n. [It. umbrella, fr. ombra a shade, L. umbra; cf. L. umbella a sunshade, a parasol. Cf. Umbel, Umbrage.]
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A shade, screen, or guard, carried in the hand for sheltering the person from the rays of the sun, or from rain or snow. It is formed of silk, cotton, or other fabric, extended on strips of whalebone, steel, or other elastic material, inserted, or fastened to, a rod or stick by means of pivots or hinges, in such a way as to allow of being opened and closed with ease. See Parasol.
Underneath the umbrella's oily shed.
--Gay. (Zo["o]l.) The umbrellalike disk, or swimming bell, of a jellyfish.
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(Zo["o]l.) Any marine tectibranchiate gastropod of the genus Umbrella, having an umbrella-shaped shell; -- called also umbrella shell.
Umbrella ant (Zo["o]l.), the sauba ant; -- so called because it carries bits of leaves over its back when foraging. Called also parasol ant.
Umbrella bird (Zo["o]l.), a South American bird ( Cephalopterus ornatus) of the family Cotingid[ae]. It is black, with a large handsome crest consisting of a mass of soft, glossy blue feathers curved outward at the tips. It also has a cervical plume consisting of a long, cylindrical dermal process covered with soft hairy feathers. Called also dragoon bird.
Umbrella leaf (Bot.), an American perennial herb ( Dyphylleia cymosa), having very large peltate and lobed radical leaves.
Umbrella shell. (Zo["o]l.) See Umbrella, 3.
Umbrella tree (Bot.), a kind of magnolia ( Magnolia Umbrella) with the large leaves arranged in umbrellalike clusters at the ends of the branches. It is a native of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky. Other plants in various countries are called by this name, especially a kind of screw pine ( Pandanus odoratissimus).
Wiktionary
n. 1 (taxlink Magnolia tripetala species noshow=1), the (vern umbrella magnolia pedia=1). 2 (taxlink Musanga cecropioides species noshow=1), the (vern African corkwood pedia=1). 3 (taxlink Polyscias murrayi species noshow=1), an Australian rainforest tree. 4 (taxlink Schefflera actinophylla species noshow=1), the (vern octopus tree pedia=1). 5 (taxlink Terminalia catappa species noshow=1), the (vern Indian almond pedia=1).
WordNet
n. erect evergreen shrub or small tree of Australia and northern Guinea having palmately compound leaves [syn: Schefflera actinophylla, Brassaia actinophylla]
small deciduous open-crowned tree of eastern North America having creamy white flowers and large leaves in formations like umbrellas at the ends of branches [syn: umbrella magnolia, elkwood, elk-wood, Magnolia tripetala]
Wikipedia
Umbrella tree can refer to several items:
- Under the Umbrella Tree, a 1986 children's television program
- Maesopsis eminii
- Melia azedarach
- Magnolia tripetala, the umbrella magnolia
- Musanga cecropioides, the African corkwood
- Polyscias murrayi, an Australian rainforest tree
- Schefflera actinophylla, the umbrella tree or octopus tree
- Schefflera arboricola, the dwarf umbrella tree
- Terminalia catappa, the Indian almond
Usage examples of "umbrella tree".
Between the fingers stretched a blue-green membrane, the single tremendous leaf of the umbrella tree.
She sat up carefully, shifted to human-size, and helped Snortimer carry the bed to the deep shade of a stout umbrella tree.
They camped for the night, and when it rained they moved under a large umbrella tree.
One day he woke from his midday summer nap under his favorite fringed umbrella tree, took a dip in the conservative gold-water pool to the right of the village, dressed himself in his cool white well-worn cotton clothes, and headed for home.
Janeway hovered behind the umbrella tree and watched as one of the kids approached Harry Kim and tapped his arm, breaking a conversation he was having with somebody else.