Penumbral is an adjective that means’ related to being a shadowy area.’

Our word of the day comes from the combination of two Latin words. Paene (PIE en ay) which means ‘almost’ and umbra (OOM bra) which means ‘shadow.’ The resulting word, penumbra entered the English language in the mid 17th century and brought with it, the adjective form, penumbral.

The penumbral regions of the woods can be a bit scary at night. You can never be sure what kind of creatures are lurking in those dark shadows.