Meanings
- On a shadow in the shape of a right triangle, the length of the shadow's edge opposite to a measured angle.
Scheubelius a great Mathematician, but by book only, and not by practice who being required ſometime in an Army to make uſe of his Quadrant, knew not the difference between umbra recta, and umbra verſa.
1688, John Hales, “The Rich man’s Recepiſti”, in Golden Remains, 3rd edition, page 77Synonyms: umbra stans
Synonyms & antonyms
nounOn a shadow in the shape of a right triangle, the length of the shadow's edge opposite to a measured angle.
Origin
First attested in Modern English in 1688, although the phrase was also used in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400) in his Treatise on the Astrolabe; Latin: umbra (“shadow”) + versa (feminine nominative singular of versus, “turned”) = “turned shadow”; compare umbra recta.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
umbra versa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbra%20versa
“umbra versa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbra%20versa. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “umbra versa,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbra%20versa.
Source: umbra versa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.