Umbrage is first recorded in the late Middle Ages. It entered English from Old French, and comes from Latin umbra ‘shadow’; the first meanings of umbrage in English were ‘shade or shadow’ or a ‘shadowy outline’. The latter sense gave rise to the meaning ‘ground for suspicion’, which led in turn to the current meaning. Umbrage is related through Latin umbra to umbrella, sombre, umber, and adumbrate.