Um*brel"la (?), n. [It. umbrella, fr.
ombra a shade, L. umbra; cf. L. umbella a sunshade, a
parasol. Cf. Umbel, Umbrage.] 1. 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.
2. (Zoöl.) The umbrellalike disk, or
swimming bell, of a jellyfish.
3. (Zoöl.) Any marine tectibranchiate
gastropod of the genus Umbrella, having an umbrella-shaped shell; --
called also umbrella shell.
Umbrella ant (Zoöl.), the sauba ant; -
- so called because it carries bits of leaves over its back when foraging.
Called also parasol ant. -- Umbrella bird
(Zoöl.), a South American bird (Cephalopterus
ornatus) of the family Cotingidæ. 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. (Zoöl.) See
Umbrella, 3. -- Umbrella tree (Bot.),
a kind of magnolia (M. 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).