penumbra

Meanings

1. A partially shaded area around the edges of a shadow, especially an eclipse.
2. A region around the edge of a sunspot, darker than the sun's surface but lighter than the middle of the sunspot.
3. An area of uncertainty or intermediacy between two mutually exclusive states or categories.
4. An area that lies on the edge of something; a fringe.
5. Something related to, connected to, and implied by, the existence of something else that is necessary for the second thing to be full and complete in its essential aspects.
6. A region of the brain that has lost only some of its blood supply, and retains structural integrity but has lost function.

Etymology

From New Latin pēnumbra, from Latin paene (“almost”) + umbra (“shadow”).