︎umbraphile n. an avid observer of, or a person with a great interest in, eclipses. Etymological Note: From Latin umbra ‘shade’ + Greek philos ‘loving.’ (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to describe how she feels about her age. And: a linguist helps solve a famous kidnapping case, using the...
Mark in Bismarck, North Dakota, spent years as a sailor, and wonders about the term sea painter, meaning “a rope attached to a lifeboat.” Why painter? The word may derive from Middle French pendeur meaning “a kind of rope that...
Earliest known use (by me, but certainly may
be predated), soon after the 1976 total solar eclipse. Also see:
http://nicmosis.as.arizona.edu:8000/UMBRAPHILLIA.html
Not only solar eclipses but occultations in general!
When the moon or an asteroid passes in front of a distant star, the moon or asteroid casts a shadow into space and if the earth intercepts the shadow an umbra is created upon the ground. As the shadow sweeps by the observer the star briefly disappears. A Solar Eclipse is realy a Lunar Occultation, it’s just that the star is up close and personal!