“Parasol,” a Word That Found a Home in Many European Languages

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Marta, and I’m calling from Ukraine.

Ukraine?

Yeah, that’s it. Yeah, Ukraine.

Marta, welcome to the show. It’s great to have you.

Oh, thanks. Likewise. I’m really glad to be here.

How can we help?

Yeah, so actual English is my second language, and I enjoy learning new words.

So when I was reading the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, I came across the word parasol, which is quite similar to the Ukrainian word that means umbrella and it sounds like parasol.

So it immediately caught my attention and I’m wondering whether this word is still used nowadays and which meaning it has.

Okay, the word parasol, P-A-R-A-S-O-L.

Yeah, exactly.

Right. And you came across this in the book Little Women?

Yeah, yeah, that’s it.

Do you have a passage from there that you could share with us?

Yes, yes, I can read it.

Just be calm, cool, and quiet, but safe and ladylike, and you can easily do it for 15 minutes, said Amy, as they approached the first place, having borrowed the white parasol and been inspected by Meg with a baby on each arm.

Okay, having borrowed the white parasol.

You know, Marta, I’m betting that this action is probably taking place on a sunny day, that these characters aren’t really expecting rain.

Is that your sense?

Yeah, yeah, that’s it.

Yeah, that makes sense because generally speaking in the United States, you use the word parasol for a shade from the sun.

It’s an umbrella that you use to keep the rain off.

And honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever used the word parasol in everyday conversation.

Oh, that’s interesting.

Yeah, it makes sense.

Yeah, a parasol, generally speaking, is a smaller, more delicate.

It can be dainty and even lacy.

And it’s used to keep the sun off of you rather than the rain off of you, which is what you use an umbrella for.

So, you know, we don’t use those so much in this country.

But you’re right that the English word parasol for that kind of shade is a distant cousin of the term that you use.

What was that again in Ukrainian?

Yeah, it sounds like parasola.

Parasola. Yeah, both of those words come from ancient roots that mean against the sun. And of course, these two languages are distant relatives because they go back to Proto-Indo-European.

They’re very distant cousins. And you also see evidence of this in other languages. In French, the word parasol means a beach umbrella. It’s that big thing that you take to the beach.

But generally speaking, Grant, I never use the word parasol.

No, no.

But I think more significantly here probably is the French and its influence on the other European languages.

Because many items of fashion, although modern French might use the beach umbrella for that term, the fashion item that a lady would carry, the delicate lacy thing, probably spread throughout Europe from the French.

And that is how more than likely parasol entered English and Ukrainian and Polish and German and Spanish, Bulgarian and other languages.

Starting in Latin, then in Italian and then entering French, but French being the main spreader of the word.

Yeah, thank you.

It’s like I’ve never thought about it, but it makes a lot of sense.

And like it actually opened my eyes.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for talking with us.

We really appreciate it.

And be safe and take care of yourself, all right?

Thank you so much for having me.

Have a good day.

Bye-bye.

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