Definition of "shadow" []

• An area that is not or is only partially irradiated or illuminated because of the interception of radiation by an opaque object between the area and the source of radiation. (noun)
• The rough image cast by an object blocking rays of illumination. See Synonyms at shade. (noun)
• An imperfect imitation or copy. (noun)
• The darkness following sunset. (noun)
• A feeling or cause of gloom or unhappiness: The argument cast a shadow on their friendship. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Washington having alluded, as he was fond of doing, to the rest he had at last secured for the remnant of his life, as he thought, under the shadow of his own vine and fig-tree, Rochambeau in his answer courteously and sincerely compliments him on the “philosophical” but not definitive quiet he now enjoys under the shadow— “of his laurel-tree."
• "As I passed across the edge of the shadow of the trees -- the ground ahead being brilliantly illuminated by the light of the comet -- I suddenly noticed, with an involuntary start, that I was being preceded by a _double shadow_, with a black center, which forked away from my feet."
• "IV. ii.26 (213,5) Haply, you shall not see me more; or if,/A mangled shadow] _Or if_ you see me more, you will see me _a mangled shadow_, only the external form of what I was."