Etymology

lampshade

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Today it means: A cover over a lamp to either diffuse the light or to block it in certain directions to avoid glare in the eyes. Full definition →

English shade ← Middle English schade ← Old English sċeadu
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekλᾰ́μπω (lắmpō)
  2. Ancient Greekλᾰμπᾰ́ς (lămpắs)
  3. Medieval Greekλαμπάδα (lampáda)
  4. Late Latinlampada
  5. Old Frenchlampe
  6. Middle Englishlaumpe
  7. Englishlamp
  8. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ḱeh₃-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ḱh₃tús
  10. Proto-Germanic*skaduz
  11. Proto-West Germanic*skadu
  12. Old Englishsċeadu
  13. Middle Englishschade
  14. Englishshade
  15. English todaylampshade

From lamp + shade. The verb sense comes from the idea of making something more conspicuous by hanging a lampshade on it.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.