Does sombra mean shade or shadow?

Question

Does sombra mean shade or shadow?

Answer 1

Does sombra mean shade or shadow?

You make it sound like they are two completely unrelated concepts:

shadow

1. a dark image or shape cast on a surface by the interception of light rays by an opaque body

2. an area of relative darkness

[...]

shade

1. relative darkness produced by the blocking out of light

3. a position of relative obscurity

Answer 2

The R A E version

It can even carry the context of to shadow (follow) someone, have a shady character, to do with eye shadow or others that we use in English.

Answer 3

These two words are slightly different in English.

Shadow is a dark area of some particular shape.

Shade is comparative darkness (the shape does not matter).

I guess that Samo's original question was to ascertain whether or not this distinction is expressed in Spanish, and if so, which sense is sombra closer to.

They are different in some contexts, and perfectly interchangeable in others. - lazarus1907, Sep 6, 2011

Answer 4

According to the dictionary, it can mean both.

Hope this helps!