It is obvious that nube (spanish for “cloud”), and its cousin nebuloso (“cloudy”), are related to the English nebulous: a SAT word meaning “unclear”, just like the sky is when it’s cloudy. This one is easy.
But did you realize that nube is also related to the English nuance?
Nuance comes from the Latin nubes, meaning “cloud” – from which we also get the almost-identical Spanish word.
Although this is less obvious, we can see the pattern here: a nuance is a slight shade of meaning, just as the cloud adds a slight shade to the sky.
Nuances, therefore, by definition, stop the clarity of sunshine from shining in, and cloud our judgments!
