sovay: (Lord Peter Wimsey)
sovay ([personal profile] sovay) wrote2009-05-03 02:13 am

But did I just turn around too soon?

If there is a single word for the object which casts a shadow, I do not know it, but it should exist.

[identity profile] grimmwire.livejournal.com 2009-05-03 07:54 am (UTC)(link)
Aaaack. Now that I've Googled, I find that "Ecliptor" was a Power Rangers villain! (Waste of a nice-sounding word, I thought.)

Anyway, I think the word you want is occulter, which blocks light from a star in a telescope.

I first thought of "occluder", which seems to suggest the same idea. It's a tool used by opthamologists.

Then again both occulter and occluder are things that block sight, not necessarily things that block light in general.

Less interesting but perhaps more to the point: the word "shade" (as a noun) fits the bill.

[identity profile] steepholm.livejournal.com 2009-05-03 09:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Shade" is both the caster, the thing cast, and the act of casting - how convenient!

Maybe some word that implies the opposite of a vampire?

Sadly, the most precise word is also a bit misleading: umbrella.

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2009-05-03 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
How interesting--in Japanese, "kage" means both "shadow" and "glow [of light]"

[identity profile] ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com 2009-05-03 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"Shade" is a good word, actually. "The shadow of the shade" has a certain ring to it.