Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A protective or ornamental covering used to screen a light bulb.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A shade or screen placed above or around the flame of a lamp, to intercept, modify, or reflect the light.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a protective ornamental covering used to screen the light bulb in a lamp from direct view.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A cover over a lamp to either diffuse the light or to block it in certain directions so it doesn't cause glare by shining directly in one's eyes.
  • verb narratology To intentionally call attention to the improbable, incongruent, or clichéd nature of an element or situation featured in a work of fiction within the work itself.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a protective ornamental shade used to screen a light bulb from direct view
  • noun a protective ornamental shade used to screen a light bulb from direct view

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

lamp +‎ shade. The verb sense comes from the idea of making something more conspicuous by hanging a lampshade on it.

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