Throwing Shade Is New, But Shade for a Ghost Is Ancient
Shade is comparative darkness. The word has meant a ghost since antiquity, and recently acquired a slang sense of subtle insult.
Shade is comparative darkness caused by blocking light, and also a degree of colour. Two other senses stand far apart in time: *shade* has meant a departed spirit since classical literature, where the dead in Hades were *shades*, and *throwing shade* — insulting someone subtly — emerged from Black and Latino ballroom culture in 1980s New York, entering wider use through the 1990 film *Paris Is Burning*. *Shadow* is the same word in a different Old English form.
- Comparative darkness. *Sit in the shade.*
- A degree of colour. *A shade of blue.*
- A ghost. *The shades of the dead.*
- Throw shade — to insult subtly. *Throwing shade.*
- Old English — *sceadu*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shade | The shade. |
| Plural | shades | Shades. |
| Verb | shade | Shade it. |
| Adjective | shady | Shady. |
| Related | shadow | A shadow. |
- They ate lunch in the shade.Darkness.
- A darker shade of green.Colour.
- That remark was pure shade.Slang.
Senses of shade
- Shelter from light — the primary sense
- A gradation of colour — a shade of red
- A window covering — American for a blind
- Sunglasses — informal, always plural
- A ghost — literary, from classical tradition
Old English *sceadu*, shade or shadow, of Germanic origin, related to Greek *skotos*, darkness.
Where does throwing shade come from?
From Black and Latino ballroom culture in 1980s New York, reaching a wider audience through the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.
Why does shade mean a ghost?
From classical literature, where the spirits of the dead were described as shades, insubstantial figures in the underworld.