light

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Definitions (305)

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  1. noun Physics Electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength in the range from about 4,000 (violet) to about 7,700 (red) angstroms and may be perceived by the normal unaided human eye.
  2. noun Physics Electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength.
  3. noun The sensation of perceiving light; brightness: a sudden light that made me blink.
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Examples

  • In him is light, and the light is the LIFE of men.” —  Life and Labors of Elder John Kline the Martyr Missionary
  • Callita had been known to heave four men at a time out of the bar if they annoyed her. —  Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
  • As the light is against the darkness, so are you and I against each other. —  Jimgrim
  • "You hid me from the Morgawr and his Mwellrets, Grianne, even without knowing who they were. —  Morgawr
  • How pale the light was at the window! —  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
 

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Words tagged light

ablaze · adamantine · agleam · aglow · alpenglow · aperture · aura · aureole · beacon · bolide · bonfire · brand · bright · brilliant · burn · candle

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Light has been looked up 623 times, favorited 0 times, listed 68 times, and commented on twice.

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

fire ·  air ·  line ·  sound ·  power ·  shadow ·  eye ·  sun ·  place ·  color
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (9)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old English lēoht, līht; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.
  2. Middle English, from Old English lēoht, līht; see legwh- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (7)

  1. from Middle English light, liht, lyht, liʒt, from Anglo-Saxon leóht, lēht, līht = Old Saxon lioht = OFries. liacht = Dutch ligt, licht = Middle Low German Low German licht = Old High German lioht, Middle High German lieht, German licht = Gothic (Moesogothic) *liuhts (evidenced by its deriv. liuhtjan, shine: see light, v.), light, bright; with orig. past participle formative -th (Anglo-Saxon usually -d (English -d, -ed), after h usually -t), from Teutonic √ luh, be light, whence also leóht, n. (see light, n.), leóma, gleam (see leam), līget, lēgetu, lightning (see lait), līg, lēg, a flame (see lay, low), līxan, līcsan, liéxan, shine, glitter, and other Teutonic forms; a wide-spread Indo-European root: = L. √ luc, shine, in lux (luc-), light, lucēre, be light (see lucent), lucidus, light, clear (see lucid), lumen, light (see lume, loom, luminous, illumine, etc.), luna, the moon (see luna, lunar, etc.); = Greek √ λυκ, shine, in λευκός, light, bright, white (see leucous, and words in leuco-), λεύσσ, σ1ειν, see, ἀμφιλύκη, twilight; cf. Irish lōche, lightning, lōn, gleam, Gaelic leus, light, lō, lā, daylight, lōchran, a light, lamp, Welsh llug, light; Old Bulgarian lucha, beam of light, luna, the moon; = Sanskrit √ ruch, shine. Hence light, v., lighten, enlighten, etc.; but light, n., is of different terminal formation: see light, n.
  2. from Middle English lighten, lichten, lihten, lyhten, liʒten, from Anglo-Saxon ly¯htan, līhtan, leóhtan, shine, lighten (also in comp. ālīhtan, inlīhtan, onlīhtan, gelīhtan, merged in obsolete English alight, v., light, illuminate) (= Old Saxon liohtian, liuhtian, OFries. lichta, ligta = Dutch lichten = Middle Low German lichten, lechten, Low German lichten = Old High German Middle High German liuhten, German leuchten = Gothic (Moesogothic) liuhtjan, be light, be bright, shine), from leóht, light, bright: see light, a.
  3. from Middle English light, licht, liʒt, liht, from Anglo-Saxon leóht = Old Saxon lioht = OFries. liacht = Dutch licht = Middle Low German Low German licht = Old High German lioht, Middle High German lieht, German licht = Gothic (Moesogothic) liuhath (liuhad-), light; with orig. noun-formative -ath, -th (the Scandinavian forms, Icelandic Ijōs = Swedish ljus = Danish lys, having a different formative -s), from the Teutonic √ luh, be light: see light, a. The noun light is thus of different formation from the adjective light, though from the same root.
  4. from Middle English light, licht, liʒt, lyht, liht, from Anglo-Saxon leóht, rarely lēht, līht (orig. līht), = Old Saxon *līht (in comp. līhtlīk, light) = OFries. līcht = Dutch ligt = Middle Low German līcht = Old High German lihti, līht, Middle High German līhte, German leicht = Icelandic lēttr = Swedish lätt = Danish let = Gothic (Moesogothic) leihts, light; perhaps orig. *linht, *lenht (with orig. past participle suffix -t), akin to Lithuanian lengwus = Latin lěvis, earlier lēvis, orig. *lenhvis (?) = Greek ἐλαχύς = Sanskrit raghu, light. From the L: form levis are ult. English levity, levitate, leaven, lever, levee, levee, levy, levy, alleviate, allege, etc.
  5. from Middle English lighte, lihte, from Anglo-Saxon leóhte (= Old Saxon liohto = Dutch ligt = Middle Low German lichte = Old High German līhto, Middle High German līhte, German leicht = Danish let = Swedish lätt), lightly, from leóht, light: see light, a.
  6. from Middle English lighten, lychten, liʒten, lihten, lyhten, make light (less heavy), from Anglo-Saxon līhtan (also in comp. alīhtan, gelīhtan, later English alight), make light, alleviate, leóhtian, become light (= OFries. lichta, ligta = Dutch ligten = Middle Low German Low German lichten = Old High German līhtan, līhtjan, Middle High German līhten, German lichten (after Low German) = Icelandic lētta = Swedish lätta = Danish lette, make light, lift, disburden), from leóht, līht, light: see light, a. Cf. alight. Cf. also light.
  7. from Middle English lighten, lichten, lyghten, liʒten, lyʒten, līhten, from Anglo-Saxon līhtan, ly¯htan (also in comp. ālīhtan, gelīhtan, later English alight), dismount (from a horse), = Icelandic lētta, dismount, stop, halt, literally make light, relieve of a burden, a particular use of līhtan, make light: see light, v. Cf. alight.
 

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/laɪt/
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