An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain. The term umbrella is traditionally used when protecting oneself from rain, with parasol used when protecting oneself from sunlight, though the terms continue to be used interchangeably. Often the difference is the material used for the canopy; some parasols are not waterproof, and some umbrellas are transparent. Umbrella canopies may be made of fabric or flexible plastic. There are also combinations of parasol and umbrella that are called en-tout-cas (French for "in any case").
Umbrellas and parasols are primarily hand-held portable devices sized for personal use. The largest hand-portable umbrellas are golf umbrellas. Umbrellas can be divided into two categories: fully collapsible umbrellas, in which the metal pole supporting the canopy retracts, making the umbrella small enough to fit in a handbag, and non-collapsible umbrellas, in which the support pole cannot retract and only the canopy can be collapsed. Another distinction can be made between manually operated umbrellas and spring-loaded automatic umbrellas, which spring open at the press of a button.
Hand-held umbrellas have a type of handle which can be made from wood, a plastic cylinder or a bent "crook" handle (like the handle of a cane). Umbrellas are available in a range of price and quality points, ranging from inexpensive, modest quality models sold at discount stores to expensive, finely made, designer-labeled models. Larger parasols capable of blocking the sun for several people are often used as fixed or semi-fixed devices, used with patio tables or other outdoor furniture, or as points of shade on a sunny beach.
Parasol may also be called sunshade, or beach umbrella (US English). An umbrella may also be called a brolly (UK slang), parapluie (nineteenth century, French origin), rainshade, gamp (British, informal, dated), or bumbershoot (rare, facetious American slang). When used for snow, it is called a paraneige. When used for sun it is called a parasol.
Etymology
The word (originally from French) is a combination of , meaning 'to shield from' derived from the Latin , and , meaning 'sun'. (French) similarly consists of combined with , which means 'rain' (which in turn derives from , the Latin word for rain). Hence, a parasol shields from sunlight while a parapluie shields from rain.
The word evolved from the Latin , meaning 'shaded' or 'shadow'. The Oxford English Dictionary records this as happening in the 17th century, with the first recorded usage in 1610.
In Britain, umbrellas were sometimes referred to as "gamps" after the character Mrs. Gamp in the Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit as the character was well known for carrying an umbrella, although this usage is now dated or obsolete.
Brolly is a slang word for umbrella, used often in Australia, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Bumbershoot is a rare and fanciful Americanism from the late 19th century.
History
Africa
Ancient Egypt
The earliest known parasols in Ancient Egyptian art date back to the Fifth Dynasty, around 2450 BC. The parasol is found in various shapes. Typically it is depicted as a flabellum, a fan of palm-leaves or coloured feathers fixed on a long handle, resembling those now carried behind the Pope in processions. Gardiner Wilkinson, in his work on Egypt, has an engraving of an Ethiopian princess travelling through Upper Egypt in a chariot; a kind of umbrella fastened to a stout pole rises in the centre, bearing a close affinity to what are now termed chaise umbrellas. According to Wilkinson's account, the umbrella was generally used throughout Egypt, partly as a mark of distinction, but more on account of its useful than its ornamental qualities. In some paintings on a temple wall, a parasol is held over the figure of a god carried in procession.
Ashanti Empire
The exact date when the Ashanti began using umbrellas is uncertain. However, in the 1800s, the Amanhene (senior chiefs) were using large multicolored umbrellas. Umbrellas were used during festivals as streets of Kumasi were paraded with them. Like the Asantehene's umbrella bearer, the others also spin their umbrellas in tune with the music produced by drummers while accompanying their "Ohene". Umbrellas were also used to provide coolness as well as highlight the importance of the various leaders.