bumbershoot

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 25, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>bumbershoot</strong> &#149; \BUM-ber-shoot\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umbrella#h1">umbrella</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Actually, it may be time to dig out the underused <em>bumbershoot</em> from the back of your closet.… According to Bagnall, these balmy days may be over for a while as three coming storms line up to bring cooler and wetter conditions…." — <a href="https://www.bakersfield.com/news/after-warm-dry-start-to-winter-its-going-to-get-wetter-and-colder-and-thats/article_b2bbb6ac-5c53-11eb-990d-5f1e9fca54f9.html">Steven Mayer, <em>The Bakersfield Californian</em>, 22 Jan. 2021</a></p> <p>"Someday, umbrellas may do more than just keep people dry. A researcher in the Netherlands has designed a simple sensor that 'listens' to rain. And that sensor can turn a <em>bumbershoot</em> into a rain-measuring whiz." — <a href="https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/umbrella-listens-rain-science">Cameron Walker, <em>Science News for Students</em>, 3 June 2014</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Umbrellas have plenty of nicknames. In Britain, <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brolly">brolly</a></em> is a popular alternative to the more staid <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umbrella#h1">umbrella</a></em>. Sarah Gamp, a fictional nurse who toted a particularly large umbrella in Charles Dickens's novel <em>Martin Chuzzlewit</em>, has inspired some English speakers to dub oversize versions <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamp">gamps</a></em>. <em>Bumbershoot</em> is a predominantly American nickname, one that has been recorded as a whimsical, slightly irreverent handle for umbrellas since the late