The umbrella was first made not to protect one from rain, but from the sun. The Chinese were credited with inventing the first form of umbrella — the silk umbrella. At the same time, rain umbrellas, more like parasols, were being used by the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Arabs and Indians, as early as the 4th century B.C.
Initially, umbrellas were made with many different materials such as feathers, leather and leaves. However, the canopy shape of umbrellas had always been the same. The Romans called their umbrella by the name umbralum, meaning shady place. They were made of cloth stretched over a wooden frame.
During the 5th century AD, the very first waterproof umbrella was made out of oiled mulberry bark. However, the Italians were the ones who invented the modern umbrella late in the 16th century. The word umbrella is adapted to English from Italian.
Picture credit: google