star

Sranan Tongo: stari
Aukan: sitali

→ Finnish: stara

→ French: star

→ German: Star

→ Italian: star

→ Swahili: staa

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster, stella, étoile, and estoile.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots starn, ster, North Frisian steer, West Frisian stjer, Saterland Frisian Stiern, Dutch ster, Luxembourgish Stär, German Stern, Yiddish שטערן (shtern), Vilamovian śtaom, Swedish stjärna, Norwegian stjerne, Icelandic stjarna, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō), Spanish estrella, Portuguese estrela, French étoile, Italian stella, Romanian stea, Occitan estela, Venetan stéła, Sicilian stidda, Sardinian isteddu, Mirandese streilha, Walloon sitoele, Romansch staila, Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă, Istriot stila, Istro-Romanian ste, Latin stēlla, Greek αστέρι (astéri), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr), Old Armenian աստղ (astł), Persian ستاره (setâre), Tajik ситора (sitora), Pashto ستوری (storay), Mazanderani اساره (ëssâre), Northern Kurdish stêr, Central Kurdish ئەستێرە (estêre), Zazaki astare, Ossetian стъалы (st’aly), Hindi तारा (tārā), Urdu تارا (tārā), Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā), Gujarati તારો (tāro), Sanskrit तारा (tārā).

аеҵǝа

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other

(astronomy) A spheroid of plasma with sufficient gravity to fuse hydrogen or heavier elements into heavier elements still. Depending on context the Sun may or may not be included.

نَجْم

(astronomy) a luminous celestial body made of plasma

A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.

[…]on whom […] / Lavish Honour shower’d all her stars,[…]

1852, Alfred Tennyson, “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 8, page 132:

A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour.

single point of failure
single point of failure

(networking) A network topology with multiple computers individually merging to one central switch, thus free of risk of collisions. A single point of failure can occur if the switch experiences corruption.


sun

the sun (canonical)
Sun (alternative capitalized)
sonne (alternative)
sunne (alternative)

From Middle English sonne, sunne, from Old English sunne, from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wen-, oblique of Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). See also Saterland Frisian Sunne, West Frisian sinne, German Low German Sünn, Dutch zon, German Sonne, Icelandic sunna; outside of Germanic, Welsh huan, Sanskrit स्वर् (svàr), Avestan 𐬓𐬇𐬧𐬔 (xᵛə̄ṇg)). Related to sol, Sol, Surya, and Helios. More at solar.

And the cite hath no nede of the ſunne nether of the mone to lyghten hit. For the bꝛynghtnes off God dyd light hitt: and the lambe was the light off hit.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Revelacion off Sanct Jhon the Devine xxj:[23], folio cccxlij, recto:

"I suppose I may have leave to do that!" Yes, she could do that, he said, but there was no road to that place; it lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and she could never find her way there.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 233:

'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

The star that Earth revolves around, and from which it receives light and heat.

𖼐𖽑𖽪𖾐

the star around which the Earth revolves — see also Sun

sol

almost always in the determinative, "solen"

天道

てぃーだ, tīda, てぃーら, tīra


sun

en-noun

sun (countable and uncountable, plural suns)

suns (plural)
Sun (alternative capitalized)
sonne (alternative)
sunne (alternative)

sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow morning

sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow morning

think the sun shines out of someone's arse

think the sun shines out of someone's ass

think the sun shines out of someone's backside

think the sun shines out of someone's butt

Because Haestrom's sun has overwhelmed the planet's protective magnetosphere, humans foolhardy enough to venture into geth-controlled Haestrom must exercise extreme caution. Minutes of radiation exposure will overload shields and hours of exposure will kill.

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Haestrom Codex entry:

(astronomy) A star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system.

𖼐𖽑𖽪𖾐

a star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system

(cartomancy) The thirty-first Lenormand card.


sun

en-verb

sun (third-person singular simple present suns, present participle sunning, simple past and past participle sunned)

suns (present singular third-person)
sunning (participle present)
sunned (participle past)
sunned (past)
Sun (alternative capitalized)
sonne (alternative)
sunne (alternative)

alternative medicine
alternative medicine

(intransitive, alternative medicine) To expose the eyes to the sun as part of the Bates method.


LED

The area already has plenty of loud billboards and klieg lights that have drawn complaints from some neighborhood groups, so the city is concerned about anything billboardesque. Mr. Astani’s application to build the LED panels is undergoing an environmental review by city planning officials.

2008 May 21, Rebecca Cathcart, “A Developer’s Unusual Plan for Bright Lights, Inspired by a Dark Film”, in The New York Times:

The light-emitting capacity of an LED is measured in megacandela [recte millicandelas] or mcd. Small commercial LEDs range from 10 to about 5000 mcd.

2012, Julio Sanchez, Maria P. Canton, Embedded Systems Circuits and Programming, →ISBN, page 12:

In some projects, the fiber optic cable will be mounted on the LEDs (D1, D6, D8, and on U22) or the phototransistor (Q4). […] Light is transmitted from the color LED, through the fiber optic cable, to control the NPN transistor (Q2) and red LED (D1).

2017 October 10, “Snap Circuits Light”, in Snap Circuits, Elenco, pages 5, 59:

light-emitting diode
light-emitting diode#English


moon

Sranan Tongo: mun

Tok Pisin: mun

Torres Strait Creole: mun

From Middle English mone, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
cognates and doublets
Cognate with Scots mone, mune, muin (“moon”), North Frisian muun (“moon”), Saterland Frisian Moune (“moon”), West Frisian moanne (“moon”), Dutch maan (“moon”), German Mond (“moon”), Danish måne (“moon”), Norwegian Bokmål måne (“moon”), Norwegian Nynorsk måne (“moon”), Swedish måne (“moon”), Faroese máni (“moon”), Icelandic máni (“moon”), Latin mēnsis (“month”). See also month, a related term within Indo-European.

inh

(cartomancy) The thirty-second Lenormand card.


moon

en-verb

moon (third-person singular simple present moons, present participle mooning, simple past and past participle mooned)

moons (present singular third-person)
mooning (participle present)
mooned (participle past)
mooned (past)

Sarah mooned over Sam's photograph for months.

You've been mooning after her forever; why not just ask her out?

On some level, the filmmakers behind Monster Trucks must have recognized the ill fit of Till playing a teenager, because they cast Jane Levy, a 27-year-old who can pass for younger but not a decade younger, as Meredith, a nerdy classmate of Tripp’s who moons over him as she insists on making an appointment to tutor him in biology.

2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club:

"No, you're right." Udo shook this newest distraction out of her head. She knew it would come creeping back in through the ears in due time, just as she knew the best way to dispel it was to finish the job and link up with the rest of the Site. In any event, there was something in what Brenda had said that didn't make sense... "But why would he be mooning over her, if she's still awake?"

2023 September 24, HarryBlank, “Working Wonders”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-05-25:

(intransitive, colloquial) (usually followed by over or after) To fuss over something adoringly; to be infatuated with someone.


light

en-noun

light (countable and uncountable, plural lights)

lights (plural)
lite (alternative archaic informal)
lighte (alternative obsolete)
lyght (alternative obsolete)
lyghte (alternative obsolete)
licht (alternative Scotland)

→ Gulf Arabic: ليت (lēt)

→ Farefare: laatɩ

Sranan Tongo: leti

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *lewk-der.
Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz
Proto-West Germanic *leuht
Old English lēoht
Middle English light
English light
From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English lēoht, from Proto-West Germanic *leuht, from Proto-Germanic *leuhtą, from Proto-Indo-European *lewktom, from the root *lewk- (“light”).
Cognates
*Scots licht (“light”)
*West Frisian ljocht (“light”)
*Dutch licht (“light”)
*Low German Licht (“light”)
*German Licht (“light”)
*Swedish ljus (“light”)
*Icelandic ljós (“light”)
*Latin lūx (“light”)
*Russian луч (luč, “beam of light”)
*Armenian լույս (luys, “light”)
*Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”)
*Persian رُخش (roxš).

visible light

electromagnetic wave perceived by the eye

Hey, buddy, you got a light?

A flame or something used to create fire.


laser

A gum resin obtained from certain umbelliferous plants.


light bulb

light bulbs (plural)
light-bulb (alternative)
lightbulb (alternative)

From light + bulb First attested in 1885.

An evacuated glass bulb containing a metal filament which is heated by electrical resistance to produce light.

llambë

evacuated glass bulb containing a metal filament that produces light

a fluorescent light bulb

an LED light bulb

(by extension) An article that resembles such a bulb and converts electricity to light by any process.

peer

resembling article that converts electricity to light

a light-bulb moment

Figuratively speaking, a light-bulb flashed over Galvin's head early this year, and in March–along […]

A light bulb went off in my head as I had an incredible idea for a beauty product.

2010, Sandy Abrams, Your Idea, Inc., Abrams Media, →ISBN, page xi:

(figuratively) Used in reference to the sudden arrival of a realization, an inspiration, an idea, or the like.

lamppu

sudden arrival of idea etc. — see also light-bulb moment


flashlight

→ Cebuano: plaslayt

→ Tagalog: plaslayt

→ Tausug: plaslayt

find one's ass with both hands and a flashlight

At school he used to do Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde, shining a flashlight into his face.

1997, Saul Bellow, The Actual, New York: Viking, page 32:

(Canada, US, Philippines) A battery-powered hand-held light source.


candle

Sranan Tongo: kandra

→ Chichewa: kandulo

From Middle English candel, from Old English candel (“candle”), borrowed from Latin candēla (“candle”), from Latin candeō (“be white, bright, shining”, verb); see candid. Doublet of candela and chandelle.

der

better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

the candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long

light a candle

blow out the candles on the birthday cake

snuff out the candle

A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.


candelabrum

en-noun

candelabrum (plural candelabra or (very rare) candelabrums)

candelabra (plural)
candelabrums (plural rare)

Unadapted borrowing from Latin candēlābrum (“candlestick”), from candēla. Doublet of chandelier. Displaced native Old English candeltrēow (literally “candle tree”).

ncog

The chair she sat in, like a burnished throne, / Glowed on the marble, where the glass […] Doubled the flames of sevenbranched candelabra / Reflecting light upon the table as / The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it, […]

1922 October, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “Part II. A Game of Chess.”, in The Waste Land, 1st book edition, New York, N.Y.: Boni and Liveright, published December 1922, →OCLC, page 17:

Cyby followed us holding up his candelabrum—I suppose more for his benefit than mine, but it permitted me to see well enough to keep from colliding with the dark oak shelves we passed.

1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter 6, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 58:

A candle holder with branches to hold more than one candle.


chandelier

/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪə(ɹ)/

/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/

Borrowed from French chandelier, from Latin candelabrum, from candela (“a candle”). Doublet of candelabrum. See also candle.

llambadar

branched, often ornate, lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling

not the brightest bulb in the chandelier

She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?

1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, chapter VII, in A House Is Built, section vi:

A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.

(originally, specifically) One lit by candles.

(surgery) An endoilluminator used in eye surgery.


torch

The noun is derived from Middle English torch, torche (“large candle; lighted stick; (figurative) sunbeam”), from Old French torche, torque (“torch; bundle of (twisted) straw”) (modern French torche); further etymology uncertain, probably from Vulgar Latin *torca (“coiled object”) (referring to a torch made from twisted plant fibres dipped in a flammable substance such as pitch), from Latin torqua, a variant of torquis (“collar of twisted metal, torque; wreath”), from torqueō (“to twist, wind”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”).
Sense 2.3 (Verbascum thapsus) is either due to the plant’s spike of yellow flowers, or because its leaves and stalks were used to make torches (noun sense 1). Sense 3.2 (“precious cause, etc., which needs to be protected and transmitted to others”) is derived from Latin lampada trādere, from Ancient Greek λᾰμπᾰ́δᾰ πᾰρᾰδιδόναι (lămpắdă părădidónai, “to hand over the torch”), a reference to the torch race held at various festivals such as the Panathenaic Games in Ancient Greece, which involved a relay where a torch was passed from one runner to another.
The verb is derived from the noun.

cog

λᾰμπᾰ́δᾰ πᾰρᾰδιδόναι

sueo'

stick of wood, etc., with one end soaked in a flammable substance and set on fire; similarly shaped implement with a replaceable supply of flammable material

Eleven days before the start of the [modern Olympic] Games, a flaming torch is ignited by the sun in Olympia at the ruins of the ancient Temple of Zeus. With that flame, relay runners lighted torches one from the other and carry it to the opening of the Games. Ever since 1936, the Summer Olympics has had its fire-font lit by a relay torch ignited at Olympia.

1984 June–July, Frances A. Harmon, “The Olympic Games—for Good and All”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Ebony Jr!, volume 12, number 2, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18, column 2:

The degradation of the [Olympic] torch worldwide—it had to be snuffed out more than once to protect it from protesters—even provoked angry Chinese students to mobilise "150 strong and energetic runners" to defend it in Australia, raising the spectre of violence.

2008 April 22–28, Rohit Mahajan, Ashish Kumar Sen, “Ah, the Human Race”, in Vinod Mehta, editor, Outlook: The Weekly Newsmagazine, New Delhi: Maheshwer Peri on behalf of Outlook Publishing, →OCLC, page 48:

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Torch, characterised by its sparkling champaign^([sic – meaning champagne]) colour and unique design, represents the spirit of the Games. […] With its gentle curves, the torch represents a sense of peace and solidarity. It stands as a symbol of the Paralympic Games' mission to promote harmony and unity.

2024 August 18 (last accessed), “Paris 2024 Paralympic Torch: A Symbol of Equality, Water, and Peacefulness”, in Paralympic.org, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia: International Paralympic Committee, archived from the original on 2024-08-18:

A stick of wood or plant fibres twisted together, with one end soaked in a flammable substance such as resin or tallow and set on fire, which is held in the hand, put into a wall bracket, or stuck into the ground, and used chiefly as a light source.

(by extension) A similarly shaped implement with a replaceable supply of flammable material; specifically, a pole with a lamp at one end.

Ernst slipped and dropped his torch on the flagstones, shattering the bulb and plunging us into darkness.

We were too excited to return to the camp, but must make our first exploration at once. Lord John had an electric torch in his knapsack, and this had to serve us as light.

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘Who could have Foreseen it?’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 140:

I want you to send two unarmed policemen into the tunnel, carrying the money, and waving a torch in front of them.

1974 October 2, Peter Stone, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, spoken by Blue (Robert Shaw), Culver City, Calif.: United Artists, →OCLC:

[L]ook at the pupils [of the eyes], noting the shape, relative sizes and any associated ptosis. Use a pocket torch and shine the light from the side to gauge the reaction of the pupils to light.

1988, Nicholas Joseph Tailey, Simon O’Connor, “The Nervous System”, in Clinical Examination: A Guide to Physical Diagnosis, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Blackwell Scientific Publications, published 1989, →ISBN, page 352:

If you can be bothered to carry them, it is a good idea to bring a torch (flashlight) and maybe binoculars for wildlife spotting.

1999, Natalie Kruger, “Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef”, in Natalie Kruger, Marc Llewellyn, edited by Suzanne Roe Jannetta, Frommer’s 99: Australia, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan Travel, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 398:

The island has only one road and relatively few cars. There are no streetlights so you'll need to bring a torch with you, or buy one from Joy's Shop, if you want to venture out at night.

1999 August, Margo Daly, Anne Dehne, David Leffman, Chris Scott [et al.], “New South Wales and ACT”, in Kieran Falconer, Harriet Sharkey, editors, Australia: The Rough Guide, 4th edition, London: Rough Guides, →ISBN, part 2 (The Guide), page 289:

(by extension, Commonwealth) Ellipsis of electric torch: synonym of flashlight (“a battery-powered hand-held light source”).

electric torch

The mob of angry villagers carried torches and pitchforks to the vampire’s castle.

Enter at one doore Æneas, at another Paris, Deiphobus, Antemor [i.e., Antenor], Diomed [i.e., Diomedes] vvith torches.

c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], signature [G4], recto:

[A]mongſt the ancients there vvas Amor Lethes [Love Dies], hee tooke burning torches, and extinguiſhed them in the riuer, his ſtatua vvas to be ſeene in the Temple of Venus Eiuſina, of vvhich Ovid makes mention, and ſaith that all louers of olde vvent thither a pilgrimate, that vvould be rid of their loue pangs.

1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Philters Magicall and Poeticall Cures”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 3, section 2, member 5, subsection 4, page 652:

[F]or this vile woman was I about to commit to danger the lives of so many noble friends—shake the foundation of a lawful throne—carry the sword and torch through the bosom of a peaceful land— […]

1821 January 8, [Walter Scott], chapter XI, in Kenilworth; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; and John Ballantyne, […]; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 210:

In easy state upon this couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see; who bore a glowing torch, in shape not unlike Plenty's horn, and held it up, high up, to shed its light on Scrooge, as he came peeping round the door.

1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 77:

He remembered […] how he heard Mrs Coldfield's feet and saw the light of the torch approaching along the upper hall and how she came and passed him, […]

1936, William Faulkner, chapter IX, in Absalom, Absalom!, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, published 1951, →OCLC, page 370:

The large lagoon-style pool has a sandy beach and swim-up bar. Coconut palms with white-painted trunks surround the lagoon, which is lit by flaming torches at night.

2005, Lee Mylne, “Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef”, in Marc Llewellyn, Lee Mylne, edited by Marie Morris, Frommer’s Australia 2005, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing, →ISBN, page 296:

[page 118] The white male Mulleyn (or rather Wolleyn) hath […] the whole top with his pleaſant yellow floures ſheweth like to a waxe Candell or taper cunningly wrought. […] [pages 119–120] Mulleyn is called […] in English alſo Tapſus barbatus, Mulleyne, or rather Wulleyn, Hig[h]taper, Torches, and Longworte: […]

1578, Rembert Dodoens, “Of Mulleyne⸝ or Hygtaper”, in Henry Lyte, transl., A Niewe Herball, or Historie of Plantes: […], London: […] [Henry [i.e., Hendrik van der] Loë for] Gerard Dewes, […], →OCLC, 1st part (Sundry Sortes of Herbes and Plantes), pages 118–120:

Verbascum thapsus
Verbascum thapsus#Translingual

(chiefly in the plural) The common mullein, great mullein, or torchwort (Verbascum thapsus).

In carry, hand on,take up pass on the torch: a precious cause, principle, tradition, etc., which needs to be protected and transmitted to others.


accretion disk

accretion disks (plural)
accretion disc (alternative)

(astrophysics) A structure formed by matter falling into a gravitational source such as a galaxy, black hole, or protostar.


match

en-verb

match (third-person singular simple present matches, present participle matching, simple past and past participle matched)

matches (present singular third-person)
matching (participle present)
matched (participle past)
matched (past)

From Middle English macchen (“to marry; be paired with”), from the noun (see above).

inh

to match boards

To fit together, or make suitable for fitting together; specifically, to furnish with a tongue and groove at the edges.


match

→ Bengali: ম্যাচ (mêc)

→ Hindi: माचिस (mācis)

→ Irish: meaits

→ Japanese: マッチ (matchi)

→ Jersey Dutch: match

→ Malay: macis, mancis

→ Pashto: ماچس (māčás)

→ Urdu: ماچس (mācis)

→ Welsh: matsis

From Middle English macche, mecche (“wick (of a candle)”), from Old French mesche, meische, from Vulgar Latin micca (compare Catalan metxa, Spanish mecha, Italian miccia), which in turn is probably from Latin myxa (“nozzle, curved part of a lamp”), from Ancient Greek μύξα (múxa, “lamp wick”).

der

He struck a match and lit his cigarette.

A device made of wood or paper, having the tip coated with chemicals that ignite with the friction of being dragged (struck) against a rough dry surface.

自來火 /自来火

⁶zy-le-hu / ²zy⁶-le²-hou³ / ⁶zy-le²-hou³


firefly

fireflies (plural)
fire-fly (alternative)

2000, Exploring Life Science, 2: Bats—Cave Life, Marshall Cavendish, page 96,
Fireflies are the best-known insects that produce light. […] Many fireflies use their light to communicate, particularly at mating time when males and females have to get together.

The luciferins are different in different species and today both the luciferin and luciferase in the firefly are available in the crystalline form.

2004, B. V. David, T. N. Ananthakrishnan, “Chapter 20: Bioluminescence”, in General and Applied Entomology, 2nd edition, Tata McGraw-Hill, page 130:

Various other luciferase genes, especially the firefly luciferase gene, are also used for the study of gene regulation.[…]The classic use of bioluminescence, however, is the use of a luciferin-luciferase mixture from fireflies as an assay for ATP.

2007, Lars Olof Björn, Helen Ghiradella, “23: Bioluminescence”, in Lars Olof Björn, editor, Photobiology: The Science of Life and Light, 2nd edition, Springer, page 607:

(Northern US, Western US, Florida) Any beetle of the family Lampyridae, which exhibit bioluminescence during twilight.


lightning bug

I watched as lightning bugs drifted in, glowing yellow against the shadows.

2019, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer, Penguin Books (2020), page 18:


fireplace

fireplaces (plural)
fire-place (alternative archaic)

Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

Opposite the old church is a Tudor black-and-white cottage, flanked at one end by the Brocket Arms, a splendid 400-year-old pub with stone-flagged floors, a vast inglenook fireplace and a garden full of oak tables and benches for summer evening meditation.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 45:

An open hearth for holding a fire at the base of a chimney.


quasar

Blend of quasi- + stellar, from quasi-stellar radio source. Coined by American astrophysicist Hong-Yee Chiu in 1964 in an article in Physics Today. Analyzable as quasi- + -ar.

coin

(astronomy) An extragalactic object, starlike in appearance, that is among the most luminous and (putatively) the most distant objects in the universe.


halogen

From Ancient Greek ἅλς (háls, “salt" or "sea”) + γεν- (gen-), "to produce" (coined by Berzelius in 1842).

der

A light fixture in which the filament is surrounded by an atmosphere of a halogen gas.


quartz halogen lamp

en-noun

quartz halogen lamp (plural quartz halogen lamps)

An incandescent light bulb in which the envelope is made of quartz instead of glass, and the filament is surrounded by an atmosphere of a halogen gas, usually iodine.


will o' the wisp

will o' the wisp (plural will o' the wisps)

will o' the wisps (plural)
will-o'-the-wisp (alternative)
will-o'-wisp (alternative)
will of the wisp (alternative)
will-in-the-wisp (alternative)
Will-with-the-wisp (alternative)

/ˌwɪləðəˈwɪsp/

Will (“male given name”) + of + the + wisp (“bundle of straw or hay used as a torch”)

Any of several kinds of pale, flickering light, appearing over marshland in many parts of the world with diverse folkloric explanations and multiple possible scientific explanations including bioluminescence and chemiluminescence.

1988, Michael Weikath, "Keeper of the Seven Keys", Helloween, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II.
Will o' the wisps / Misguiding your path / You can't throw a curse / Without takin' their wrath

(British folklore) A flickering light or lantern, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes, held by a supernatural creature who uses it to lure travelers at night to their demise.

Some preliminary legal arrangements were made, but the scheme proceeded no further, as the various local authorities concerned were unwilling to speculate public funds on what was, even at that date, a will o' the wisp.

1951 May, R. K. Kirkland, “The Cavan & Leitrim Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 345:

I happen to think the brothers’ pi project is a will-o’-the-wisp, and is one of the least interesting things they’ve ever done. But what do I know?

1992 March 2, Richard Preston, “The Mountains of Pi”, in The New Yorker:

(figurative) A delusionary or otherwise unachievable goal that one feels compelled to pursue.


lamp

en-verb

lamp (third-person singular simple present lamps, present participle lamping, simple past and past participle lamped)

lamps (present singular third-person)
lamping (participle present)
lamped (participle past)
lamped (past)

From Middle English laumpe, lampe, from Old French lampe (“lamp, light”), from Latin lampas (“torch, lamp, light”), from Ancient Greek λαμπάς (lampás, “torch, lamp, beacon, light, meteor”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂p- (“to shine”). Cognate with Lithuanian lópė (“light”), Welsh llachar (“bright”). Displaced native Old English lēohtfæt (literally “light-vat”).

cog

To make into a table lamp, said of a vase or urn, etc.


lantern

lanterns (plural)
lanthorn (alternative archaic)

→ Bengali: লন্ঠন (lonṭhon)

Hindi: लालटेन (lālṭen)

→ Irish: laindéar

→ Malay: lentera

Indonesian: lentera

→ Telugu: లాంతరు (lāntaru)

From Middle English lanterne (13th century), via Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna (“lantern”), itself a corruption of Ancient Greek λαμπτήρ (lamptḗr, “torch”) (see lamp, λάμπω (lámpō)) by influence of Latin lucerna (“lamp”). The spelling lanthorn was current during the 16th to 19th centuries and originates with a folk etymology associating the word with the use of horn as translucent cover. For the verb, compare French lanterner to hang at the lamppost. Displaced native Old English lēohtfæt (literally “light-container”).


Min Min light

Named after the small settlement of Min Min, located between the outback towns of Boulia and Winton, where the light was observed by a stockman in 1918.

Min-min lights are usually seen during the winter, for example, when cold-air inversions abound. This, and his artificial min-min, seemed to confirm the theory.

2003, New Scientist, volume 180, numbers 2415-2428, page 71:

Then, once a man was talking about his outdoor work, he got around to speaking about the mysteries of the min-min light and who saw it where.

2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo, published 2012, page 340:

Neuroscientist, Professor Jack Pettigrew, of the University of Queensland claims the Min Min lights are an inverted mirage of light sources hundreds of miles away, caused by a temperature inversion when cold dense air is trapped near the ground to be refracted so that it travels a curved path around the globe.

2006, Marion Houldsworth, From Gulf to God Knows Where, footnote, page 127:

“You′ve heard of Min Min lights?” She grinned. “Sure.”
The strange appearance of those lights in the outback was legendary.[…]
“Min Min lights were part of Aboriginal folklore long before modern day sightings made them famous,” Jack said.

2010, Robyn Grady, Bargaining For Baby, unnumbered page:

Travellers camping out on the plains may witness a glowing light that seems to hover eerily across the vast landscape – the unexplained Min Min Lights that have been shrouded in mystery for over 100 years.

2010, Craig Lewis, Cathy Savage, The Complete 4WD Guide, unnumbered page:

(Australia) An unexplained light reportedly appearing in the sky in remote parts of Australia, especially northwest Queensland, possibly caused by reflections of distant light in the dry air conditions.


gaslight

en-noun

gaslight (countable and uncountable, plural gaslights)

gaslights (plural)
gas light (alternative)
gas-light (alternative)

From gas (“flammable gaseous hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel”) + light.

compound

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-gaslight.wav

He was renovated and refreshed, his soul was strengthened, and his countenance waxed cheerful, and he began to feel like himself again, under the brown canopy of metropolitan smoke, and among the cabs and gaslights.

[1871], J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “Captain Lake Looks in at Nightfall”, in Wylder’s Hand: […] (Select Library of Fiction; 178), new edition, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 118:

Open the windows once in awhile^([sic]) and give the air a chance to circulate in and out. In the evening, do not forget that the lamps and gaslights are using up a goodly supply of oxygen also—so freshen things up a little, once in awhile.

1904, Yogi Ramacharaka [pseudonym; William Walker Atkinson], “Fresh Air”, in Hatha Yoga: Or The Yogi Philosophy of Physical Well-being […], Chicago, Ill.: Yogi Publication Society […], →OCLC, page 222:

A lamp which operates by burning piped illuminating gas (or town gas).


spotlight

A bright, directional light or lamp, especially one used to illuminate the focus or center of attention on a stage.

проже́ктор

a bright lamp, especially one used to illuminate the center of attention on a stage

Some people enjoy the spotlight.

(figurative) The center of attention; the highlight or most important part.

أَضْوَاء

the center of attention; the highlight or most important part


spotlight

en-verb

spotlight (third-person singular simple present spotlights, present participle spotlighting, simple past and past participle spotlighted or spotlit)

spotlights (present singular third-person)
spotlighting (participle present)
spotlighted (participle past)
spotlighted (past)
spotlit (participle past)
spotlit (past)

The news series served to spotlight corruption.

(transitive, figurative) To draw attention to.


black light

en-noun

black light (countable and uncountable, plural black lights)

black lights (plural)
blacklight (alternative)

From black + light, since ultraviolet light is invisible to the human eye.

(uncountable, slang) Ultraviolet radiation or light.


ultraviolet light

ultraviolet light (countable and uncountable, plural ultraviolet lights)

(countable) A light bulb that emits ultraviolet light; a black light.


nightlight

nightlights (plural)
night light (alternative)

She had brought in with her the night-light that had been burning outside her door. She blew it out.

1925, D. H. Lawrence, chapter XVIII, in Louis L. Martz, editor, Quetzalcoatl, New York: New Directions, published 1998, page 310:

They made you give up / your nightlight / and your teddy / and your thumb.

1974, Anne Sexton, “The Fury of Overshoes”, in The Complete Poems, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, published 1981, page 372:

1988, Joseph Brodsky, "Gorbunov and Gorchakov" Canto 13 in In Urania, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 165,
Your light cannot drive off the dark from me— / not any more than night-lights by the bed / drive off my dreams.

He put a small nightlight in the bathroom to find his way around in the dark.

a small, dim light or lamp left on overnight


flare

→ Italian: flare

Origin unknown, first recorded in the mid 16th century, probably related to Latin flagrō (“I burn”). Norwegian flara (“to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy attire”) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it. Possibly related to Middle High German vlederen (“to flutter”), represented by modern German flattern.
The noun is derived from the verb.

unknown

Origin unknown

ярка светлина

source of brightly burning light or intense heat

Stulp

widening of an object with otherwise roughly constant width

разкрояване

widening of the lower legs of trousers and jeans

In the early 1970's, a giddy epoch in men's fashion, when denim flares and platform oxfords were the outer edge of style, Giorgio Armani made a suit that stretched. Imbued with spandex, the elastic fiber that gives a fabric extra bounce, the suit was one of the first in a long line of innovations that would eventually make Armani as familiar a brand as Kleenex.

1991 September 15, Ruth La Ferla, “Next weave”, in The New York Times Magazine, archived from the original on 2018-08-20:

As a teenager I hitch-hiked around free rock concerts, wearing flowered shirts and denim flares – jeans that were worn so much, in such rough conditions, and with so little attention to washing and care that after a while they became naturally abraded and frayed in just the manner that is simulated by commerce today.

2012, Daniel Miller, “Why Denim?”, in Consumption and Its Consequences, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Malden, Mass.: Polity Press, →ISBN, page 94:

The defect in question is the flare which frequently arises from the use of compound lenses when there is a very bright object in front, resulting in a ghost-like image of that object being thrown upon the plate. If the image of the object thus duplicated be in focus we designate it a "ghost;" if out of focus we call it "flare."

1874 October 23, “On Certain Defects in Combination Landscape Lenses”, in The British Journal of Photography, volume XXI, number 755, London: Henry Greenwood, […], →OCLC, page 515, column 1:


flare

en-verb

flare (third-person singular simple present flares, present participle flaring, simple past and past participle flared)

flares (present singular third-person)
flaring (participle present)
flared (participle past)
flared (past)

unknown

Origin unknown

Qatar joined the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction programme in early 2008, indicating its commitment to reducing the process of flaring the gas found with oil deposits.

2008, “Going Green: The Country is Keen to Increase Its Environmental Credentials”, in The Report: Qatar 2008, [s.l.]: Oxford Business Group, →ISBN, marginal note, page 247:

One time I was working with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) on fueling their fleet, and I was surprised to see them flaring the methane at their wastewater facility.

2013 April, Blair L. Pollock, “Doing New Things”, in Lyle Estill, editor, Small Stories Big Changes: Agents of Change on the Frontlines of Sustainability, Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, →ISBN, page 147:

(transitive) To cause to burn; in particular, to burn off excess gas.


Sun

the Sun (canonical)
sonne (alternative obsolete)
sunne (alternative obsolete)
sun (alternative)

From Middle English sunne, from Old English sunna, sunne (“sun; the Sun”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from the heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wén-, oblique form of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun; the Sun”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sunne, West Frisian sinne, Dutch zon, Old Dutch sunna, German Low German Sünn, Old Saxon sunna, German Sonne, Old High German sunna, Faroese sunna, Icelandic sunna, Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 (sunnō). More at sun.

inh

(newspapers) An English tabloid newspaper.


HMI

(technology) Initialism of human-machine interface.


lighting

en-noun

lighting (countable and uncountable, plural lightings)

We've observed plenty of strikings followed by lightings, so even if we should not say that the strikings cause the lightings, isn't it at least reasonable to predict, and to believe, that the next time we strike a match in similar conditions, it will be followed by a lighting?

2012, Andrew Pessin, Uncommon Sense, page 142:

The act of activating such equipment, or of igniting a flame etc.


radiophotoluminescence

(physics) the luminescence observed when some minerals or glasses, having been exposed to ionizing radiation, are subsequently exposed to ultraviolet light; exploited in some dosimeters


camera flash

(photography) A device that produces a short flash of light to help illuminate a scene, mostly for night-time or indoors photography, to make the picture brighter.


thermoluminescence

thermoluminescence (countable and uncountable, plural thermoluminescences)

(physics) The release of previously absorbed radiation upon being heated.


glowworm

glowworms (plural)
glow-worm (alternative)

From Middle English glouworm; equivalent to glow + worm.
Compare German Glühwurm.

The glowworm shows the matin to be near
And ’gins to pale his uneffectual fire.
Adieu, adieu, adieu! Remember me.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:

1604, William Alexander, The Alexandraean Tragedie, Act V, Scene 2, in The Monarchicke Tragedies, London: Ed. Blount, 1607,
Some things afarre doe like the Glow-worme shine,
That lookt to neere haue of that light no signe.

Glories (like glowe-wormes) a farre off, shine bright,
But look’d to neere, haue neither heate, nor light.

1612–1613 (date written), John Webster, The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy. […], London: […] Nicholas Okes, for Iohn Waterson, […], published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

Ye Glo-worms, whose officious Flame
To wandring Mowers shows the way,
That in the Night have lost their aim,
And after foolish Fires do stray;

1681, Andrew Marvell, “The Mower to the Glo-Worms”, in Miscellaneous Poems, London: Robert Boulter, page 44:

1819, William Wordsworth, “The Waggoner” Canto 1, in The Miscellaneous Poems of William Wordsworth, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1820, p. 7,
Confiding Glow-worms, ’tis a night
Propitious to your earth-born light!

Young girls lie bedded soft or glide in their dreams, with rings and trousseaux, bridesmaided by glowworms down the aisles of the organplaying wood.

1954, Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood […] , New York: New Directions, page 1:

The larva or wingless grub-like female of a beetle from the families Phengodidae or Lampyridae that gives out a green light from its abdomen.

(Australia, New Zealand) A carnivorous gnat larva in the keroplatid genus Arachnocampa that spins threads to capture insects attracted by its glow.


headlight

Lysergic acid diethylamide
lysergic acid diethylamide#English

(US, slang, chiefly in the plural) Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).


stroboscope

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-stroboscope.wav

From Ancient Greek στρόβος (stróbos, “whirl”) and Ancient Greek σκοπέω (skopéō, “examine, inspect, look to or into, consider”).

der

A photograph produced by such a machine.


sconce

Unclear. Perhaps a use of sconce (“light fixture”) or sconce (“fortification”), but seemingly older than the latter

The table opposite started singing "shit sconce, shit scone^([sic]), shit sconce, shit sconce" […]

2014 February 25, James Burns, “Fishing for Sconces”, in funnywomen.com (blog), archived from the original on 2022-01-27:

(Oxford University slang) An act of sconcing; very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself.


chemiluminescence

en-noun

chemiluminescence (usually uncountable, plural chemiluminescences)

chemiluminescences (plural)
chemoluminescence (alternative)
chemiluminesence (alternative misspelling)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-chemiluminescene.wav

(chemistry) The emission of light as the result of a chemical reaction.


chemoluminescence

chemoluminescence (countable and uncountable, plural chemoluminescences)


bioluminescence

bioluminescence (countable and uncountable, plural bioluminescences)

(biology, biochemistry) The emission of light by a living organism (such as a firefly).


cameo lighting

A sort of spotlight that accentuates a single person and possibly a few props in the scene.


luminary

From Late Middle English lūminārī, lūminārīe (“lamp; source of spiritual light, example of holiness; glory”), borrowed from Old French luminarie (“lamp, lights, lighting; candles; brightness, illumination”), variant of luminaire (“light fixture”) (modern French luminaire), from Medieval Latin lūminārium, from lūmināre (“that which gives light; light; lamp; body giving light, especially a heavenly body”), from lūmen (“light; brightness”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -āris (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Doublet of luminaire.

der

[…] then firſt adornd / With thir bright Luminaries that Set and Roſe, / Glad Evening & glad Morn crownd the fourth day.

1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 384–386:

The first eye of consequence (under the invisible Author of all) is the visible luminary of the universe.

1711 December 28 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “MONDAY, December 17, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 250; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 246:

The Intercourſe between God and his Soul was as conſtant and periodical as the Riſing and Setting of the Great Luminary of Heaven; […]

1741, John Pinsent, “The Character of Andrew Barker, Esq; …”, in [John Wilford], editor, Memorials and Characters, together with the Lives of Divers Eminent and Worthy Persons. […], London: Printed for John Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 287:

For all things, even Celestial Luminaries, much more atmospheric meteors, have their rise, their culmination, their decline.

1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Symbols”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 155:

(archaic) A body that gives light; especially, one of the heavenly bodies.


phosphorescence

en-noun

phosphorescence (countable and uncountable, plural phosphorescences)

From phosphorescent.
Morphologically phosphoresce + -ence.

We saw a round red sun rise over the City, paint the glassy towers with phosphorescence and, as it brightened and lost its shape, sprinkle across the sky feathers of pink and lilac.

2002, Barbara Vine, Grasshopper, page 138:

The emission of light without any perceptible heat; the quality of being phosphorescent.


traffic light

ពន្លឺចរាចរណ៍

pɔɔnlɨɨ cɑɑraacɑɑ

How do I get to the hospital? ~ You go straight on to the traffic lights, then turn left at the traffic lights and the hospital is on your right.

A signalling device positioned at a road intersection or pedestrian crossing indicating the moment it is safe to drive, ride or walk, using a universal color code.

(usually in the plural) A road intersection controlled by one or more such devices.


lighthouse

A tower or other structure exhibiting a light or lights to warn or guide sailors.

vuurtoring

building containing a light to warn or guide ships


stoplight

stoplights (plural)
stop light (alternative)

(US, Philippines) A traffic control signal, traditionally consisting of three lights, colored green, yellow/amber, and red, meaning proceed, prepare to stop, and stop, respectively.

The rear lamps are combined with the service stoplights and are contained in stoplight part and blackout marker light assemblies at the rear of the vehicle.

1973, United States. Department of the Army, Organizational Maintenance Manual (TM-9-2320-211-20), page 2-52:

A light on the rear of a vehicle that is activated when braking; a brake light.


radioluminescence

radioluminescence (usually uncountable, plural radioluminescences)

luminescence produced by bombardment with ionizing radiation


incandescent lamp

incandescent lamp (plural incandescent lamps)

A light bulb whose metallic filament is heated by an electric current.


luminaire

/ˌluːməˈnɛɹ/

Unadapted borrowing from French luminaire. Doublet of luminary.

ubor

An electrical device that contains an electric lamp that provides illumination.


streetlight

en-noun

streetlight (countable and uncountable, plural streetlights)

streetlights (plural)
street light (alternative)
street-light (alternative)

At night the streetlights of Paris are beautiful to see.

(countable) Any large outdoor light used to illuminate a public area, usually urban.

مِصْبَاح الشَّارِع

miṣbāḥ aš-šāriʕ


lamppost

lampposts (plural)
lamp post (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-lamppost.wav

"What is really good is they haven't just painted the station building, they've done all the lampposts to match as well, right down to the end of the platform.

2023 January 25, Tom Allett, “Sleaford restored to its 'true' identity”, in RAIL, number 975, page 51:

The pole that holds up a light so it can illuminate a wide area, such as holds up a streetlight.


electroluminescence

electroluminescence (usually uncountable, plural electroluminescences)

(physics) The generation of light by the application of an alternating current to a semiconductor or phosphor, or by an electric discharge through a gas.

elektroluminestsents

generation of light by application of an alternating current or by electric discharge


light-emitting diode

light-emitting diode (plural light-emitting diodes)

light-emitting diodes (plural)
LED (alternative initialism)

electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic radiation

(physics) A rectifying semiconductor device which converts electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength in or near the visible spectrum of light.


lamplight

lamplight (countable and uncountable, plural lamplights)

From Middle English lampe lyght, laumpe-lyth, lombe-lyȝt, equivalent to lamp + light. Compare West Frisian lampeljocht (“lamplight”), Dutch lamplicht (“lamplight”), German Lampenlicht (“lamplight”), Danish lampelys (“lamplight”), Swedish lampljus (“lamplight”), Icelandic lampaljós (“lamplight”).

We sat around reading by lamplight all night.

I turned my head, and as I lay gasping in the throes of that awful struggle I could see that Leo was off the rock now, for the lamplight fell full upon him.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped.

2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:


moderator

moderators (plural)
moderatour (alternative)

/ˈmɒdəˌɹeɪtə(ɹ)/

Learned borrowing from Latin moderātor. First attested as Middle English moderatour.

(Ireland) At the University of Dublin, either the first (senior) or second (junior) in rank in an examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.


mercury-vapour lamp

mercury-vapour lamp (plural mercury-vapour lamps)

mercury-vapour lamps (plural)
mercury-vapor lamp (alternative)

By night the carriage yard is illuminated by mercury vapour lamps on 50ft lattice steel towers remotely controlled from the diesel depot.

1962 June, “The Eastern Region completes the Colchester scheme”, in Modern Railways, page 412:

(British spelling) a gaseous discharge lamp in which the arc discharge takes place in mercury vapour; used for highway illumination and as an industrial source of ultraviolet radiation


metal halide lamp

metal halide lamp (plural metal halide lamps)

A high-pressure discharge lamp that is enclosed in a quartz envelope containing metal halides (usually iodides), and produces high-efficacy white light.


searchlight

From search + light. Compare West Frisian sykljocht (“searchlight”), Dutch zoeklicht (“searchlight”), Danish søgelys (“searchlight”), Swedish sökarljus (“searchlight”).

A light source that projects a bright beam of light in any direction, generally for military use.

soeklig

a light source that projects a bright beam of light in any direction


serge

serge (countable and uncountable, plural serges)

From Middle English sarge, from Old French sarge, serge, from Vulgar Latin *sarica, from Latin sērica (“silken, silk things”), from Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós, “silken”), from σήρ (sḗr, “silkworm”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”), possibly from Old Chinese 絲 (*sə, “silk”). Doublet of silk and seric.

der

(by metonymy) A garment made of this fabric.


neon sign

Just listen to the music and the traffic of the city / Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty

1979, “Downtown”, performed by The B-52's:

An illuminated sign constructed from fluorescent lights in the form of bent glass tubes; the different colours being obtained by adding different noble gases to the neon.

霓虹燈招牌 /霓虹灯招牌

an illuminated sign constructed from fluorescent lights


neon lighting

en-noun

neon lighting (usually uncountable, plural neon lightings)


punkie

punkies (plural)
punkey (alternative)
punky (alternative)

From Jersey Dutch *punkje + English -ie (diminutive suffix). *Punkje is derived from Delaware Munsee *pónkwes + Dutch -je (diminutive suffix); and *pónkwes from Proto-Algonquian *penkw- (“ashes; dust”) (whence Unami punkw (“dust”); probably referring to the insects’ small size) + *-ehs- (diminutive suffix). Compare the name of the Pennsylvania, USA, borough Punxsutawney (from Unami punkwës utènay (“sandfly town”)).

der

(chiefly New England) A small two-winged fly or midge of the family Ceratopogonidae, which bites and then sucks the blood of mammals; a biting midge or sandfly.


punkie

Possibly an alteration of pumpkin (“plant of the species Cucurbita pepo; round orange or yellow fruit of this plant; (archaic) any type of edible gourd”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).

(South West England, chiefly Somerset) In full punkie lantern: a lantern similar to a jack-o'-lantern consisting of a gourd such as a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel or swede which has been hollowed out, in which a candle has been placed; these are chiefly displayed during Punkie Night in late October.


punkie

Possibly an alteration of the first two syllables of pumpkinseed (“the North American sunfish Lepomis gibbosus”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).

But, although anything but a wary fish, the sunfish is not easy to catch because of its small mouth. Unless a small hook is used, meager results are secured in proportion to the antics of the cork or bobber, which in good "punkie" territory is likely to jiggle, stand on end and depart bottomward on short notice.

1949 October–November, John R. Greeley, “Sunfishes”, in P. W. Fosburgh, editor, New York State Conservationist, volume 4, number 2, Albany, N.Y.: State of New York Conservation Department, →OCLC, page 14, column 2:

(US) Synonym of pumpkinseed (“a North American sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus”).


xenon flash lamp

en-noun

xenon flash lamp (plural xenon flash lamps)

A lamp that produces a very short, but very intense, flash of white light; used in photography and in photocoagulation

xenon villanólámpa

a lamp that produces a short, intense flash of light


photoluminescence

photoluminescence (countable and uncountable, plural photoluminescences)

(physics) luminescence following the absorption of a photon.


sunlamp

A lamp that produces ultraviolet radiation; used for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes.


arc lamp

arc lamps (plural)
arc-lamp (alternative)

This led him to the station; and the square in front of it, vivid with arc-lamps, noisy with the yellow trams that seemed to cross it in all directions, made him laugh aloud with joy.

1915, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 40, in Of Human Bondage:

The vague and careless rain looked like threads of gossamer silver passing across the light of the arc-lamps.

1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

An electric arc arranged so as to produce useful light.

buelampe

an electric arc arranged so as to produce useful light


cresset

From Middle English cresset, from Old French crasset, cresset (“sort of lamp or torch”); perhaps of Old Dutch or Old High German origin, and akin to English cruse and/or French creuset (“crucible”), the latter being from Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin *croceolus.

1805–1814, Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary (translator), The Divine Comedy, "Inferno", Canto VIII
We reach'd the lofty turret's base, our eyes / its height ascended, where we mark'd uphung / two cressets and another saw from far

A metal cage, basket or cup with fire in it, used for various purposes:

(coopering) A small furnace or iron cage to hold fire for charring the inside of a cask, and making the staves flexible.


ball lightning

ball lightning (usually uncountable, plural ball lightnings)

A short-lived glowing ball sometimes observed to float in the air and thought to consist of ionized gas associated with thunderstorms.

кълбовидна мълния

a short-lived, glowing ball sometimes observed to float in the air


floodlight

→ Tagalog: pladlayt

(chiefly in the plural) Powerful artificial illumination with a broad beam, especially in a series of units on pylons used to illuminate a sports ground.

fladebelysning

powerful artificial illumination with a broad beam


jack-o'-lantern

jack-o'-lanterns (plural)
jack-o-lantern (alternative)
jack o'lantern (alternative)
Jack O'Lantern (alternative)

Originally, a night watchman who carried a lantern. (See Jack.)
Attested as a term for ignis fatuus in English folklore in the 1660s, mostly in East Anglia but also in southwestern England.
The sense of carved pumpkin in American English is attested in 1834.

A carved pumpkin whose top and stem have been cut out and interior removed, leaving a hollow shell that is then decorated to represent a face, illuminated from within by a candle. It is a symbol of Halloween.


klieg light

From John H. Kliegl and Anton T. Kliegl, its inventors.

And with the klieg lights suddenly on her every move, Ms. Harris has an opportunity to reintroduce herself to the American public after a rough start as vice president.

2024 July 9, Linda Feldmann, Francine Kiefer, “Is Kamala Harris ready to step up?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

An intense carbon arc lamp used in cinematography


sidelight

He is well up to form when dealing with passenger stock, notably Victorian and Edwardian and on this and on East Coast motive power he throws many sidelights.

1962 October, “New Reading on Railways: The Flying Scotsman 1862-1962. By C. Hamilton Ellis. Allen & Unwin. 6s.”, in Modern Railways, unnumbered page:

A piece of incidental information that helps one understand a subject.


foxfire

fox fire (alternative)
fox-fire (alternative)

Possibly from fox + fire, though the semantic connection is unclear. Alternatively, the first element may be ultimately from Old French fols (“false”), or the term may derive by folk etymology from phosphor.

The foxfire,—as the country people call it,—glowed hideously from the cold and matted bosom of the marsh; and, far from us, in the depths of darkness, the screech-owl sat upon his perch, brooding over the slimy pool, and whooping out a dismal curfew, that fell upon the ear like the cries of a tortured ghost.

1832, Mark Littleton [pseudonym; John Pendleton Kennedy], “The Goblin Swamp”, in Swallow Barn, or A Sojourn in the Old Dominion. In Two Volumes, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Carey & Lea, […], →OCLC, page 311:

Perhaps you've seen a foxfire in the woods. Well, in the dark, it looks like a live, burning coal; but when you go to it, and take it up, it's only a piece of rotten wood.

1874 June, Philip Quilibet, “Drift-wood. A Famous Evangelist.”, in The Galaxy. […], volume XVII, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Sheldon & Co., →OCLC, page 842, column 2:

[Nathaniel] Hawthorne in one of his books records a remarkable personal encounter with this weird fox-fire, and one which cost him dearly. He was on a journey by canal-boat, which had stopped en route for a brief period at midnight. During the interval he had stepped ashore, and was decoyed into a neighboring wood by the bright glow, which proved to be a fallen tree ablaze with phosphorescence. In his surprise and interest he lost all account of time, and thus missed his boat, [...] Almost any damp woods, especially after a rain, is likely to disclose its fox-fire, but it occasionally appears under circumstances where we little expect it.

1894 January 9, William Hamilton Gibson, “Foxfire”, in Harper’s Young People, volume XV, number 741, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 189, column 1:

People calls this "spunk," but it's foxfire. You see this hole in it? You see where I sawed it in two with the chain saw? See, this grows in hollow trees in a maple or a oak. No, it ain't mushroom; it's just really foxfire.

1911, Patsy Moore Ginns, quoting Stanley Hicks, “Ghosts, Haints, and Witches”, in Snowbird Gravy and Dishpan Pie: Mountain People Recall, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, published 1982, →ISBN, page 185:

The rain stopped falling. They passed, leaving a trail of foxfire shuffled up out of the wet leaves like stars plowed in a ship's wake.

1965, Cormac McCarthy, The Orchard Keeper, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →OCLC; republished London: Picador, 2010, →ISBN, page 201:

Curiously enough, there were fluorescent displays underground that could be enjoyed without benefit of an ultraviolet lamp. One of these was fox fire, the spectral glow given off by fungi on decaying timber. In the damp darkness of the mine, pine planks 3 inches thick could become feather light and crumbly in a year.

1983, Manuel Robbins, “Collecting Fluorescent Minerals”, in The Collector’s Book of Fluorescent Minerals, New York, N.Y., London: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, →DOI, →ISBN, page 50:

(mycology, chiefly US) Bioluminescence created by some types of fungus, particularly those growing on rotting wood.

فوكسفيري

bioluminescence created by some types of fungus


blackout lamp

A hand-held lamp that has sliding or rotating doors to adjust the amount of light emitted.


forecastle lamp

forecastle lamp (plural forecastle lamps)

(nautical) A lamp hung in the forecastle of a ship to allow sailors to work and relax after dark.


chemoluminescent

en-adj

chemoluminescent (comparative more chemoluminescent, superlative most chemoluminescent)

more chemoluminescent (comparative)
most chemoluminescent (superlative)


girandole

girandoles (plural)
girandola (alternative)

/ˈd͡ʒɪɹəndəʊl/

From French girandole, from Italian girandola, from girare (“to turn, gyrate”).

1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII
As I sat in my usual nook, and looked at him with the light of the girandoles on the mantelpiece beaming full over him...

It was a scene of gaiety, glitter, and show; of richly–dressed people, handsome mirrors, chalked floors, girandoles and wax–candles; and in all parts of the scene, gliding from spot to spot in silent softness, bowing obsequiously to this party, nodding familiarly to that, and smiling complacently on all, was the sprucely–attired person of Angelo Cyrus Bantam, Esquire, the Master of the Ceremonies.

1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers 35

An ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind.


ignis fatuus

From New Latin ignis fatuus (literally “foolish fire”).

bor

Fiery spirits or devils are such as commonly work by blazing stars, fire-drakes, or ignes fatui; which lead men often in flumina aut præcipitia, saith Bodine[…]

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:

An Ignis Fatuus, that bewitches, / And leads Men into Pools and Ditches

1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto I.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 16:

[…] they think this is written on purpose to be published; and that this defence is so published, that it may serve as an Ignis fatuus to mislead them […]

1660, William Petty, Reflections upon Ireland, page 55:

He cursed the journey he had been led to take after what had proved but an ignis fatuus, deluded as he had been by false expectations;[…]

1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter V, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 49:

Henrietta’s career, however, was not so successful as might have been wished even in the interest of her private felicity; that view of the inner life of Great Britain which she was so eager to take appeared to dance before her like an ignis fatuus.

1908, Henry James, chapter XIX, in The Portrait of a Lady (The Novels and Tales of Henry James; III), New York edition, volume I, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC; republished as The Portrait of a Lady (EBook #2833), United States: Project Gutenberg, 1 September 2001:

A reality which is neither of these two, but an object in itself (into which the thing in itself has unfortunately dwindled in the hands of Kant), is the phantom of a dream, and its acceptance is an ignis fatuus in philosophy.

1909, Arthur Schopenhauer, The World As Will And Idea, page 5:

Like some ignis fatuus belated upon the road behind them which all could see and of which none spoke. For this will to deceive that is in things luminous may manifest itself likewise in retrospect and so by sleight of some fixed part of a journey already accomplished may also post men to fraudulent destinies.

1985, Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC:

But he was slow – painfully slow, hour after hour slow, sweating and struggling in front of his own class slow – to accept the truth about the simple statement: the truth being that it is an ignis fatuus.

2007, Clive James, Cultural Amnesia, Picador, page 805:

(figuratively) A delusion, a false hope.


tealight

tealights (plural)
tea light (alternative)
tea-light (alternative)
tealite (alternative)

From tea + light, since they are sometimes used to keep a teapot warm.

2004, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service https://web.archive.org/web/20071027212506/http://www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk/ccm/content/press-releases/2004/april-2004/tea-lights-pose-potential-danger.en
Candles and tealights can be hazardous and must be used in accordance with any instructions.

A small, typically circular candle encased in a thin metal cup, so that it liquefies completely when lit and burns as a wick immersed in molten wax.

茶燭 /茶烛

small, typically circular candle encased in thin metal cup


fluorescent lamp

en-noun

fluorescent lamp (plural fluorescent lamps)

A gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light.


pricket

From Middle English precat, preket, priket, pryket; equivalent to prick + -et. Earlier currency of the Middle English word is apparently implied by surnames and borrowings into Latin and Anglo-Norman.

Near-synonyms: brocket, knobber, knobbler, spitter

he can stay / For the new-mown hay, / And startle the dappled prickets?

1816, John Keats, For there's Bishop's Teign:

A male deer in its second year, whose antlers have not yet branched.


standard lamp

A lamp supported by a tall vertical pole in order that light comes from above those seated in the vicinity.


oil lamp

Meronym: lampwick

The West Clare Railway is, I suppose, one of the most primitive in the whole C.I.E. system, for its coaches date entirely from 1887 to 1890, and are still lit with oil lamps.

1948 March and April, “Notes and News: Narrow-Gauge in Western Eire”, in Railway Magazine, page 129:

A simple vessel used to produce light continuously for a period of time from a liquid fuel source, especially lamp oil.


sonoluminescence

(physics) The emission of short bursts of light from imploding bubbles in a liquid when excited by sound.


fog lamp

(automotive) A bright red lamp (normally one of a pair) at the rear of a motor car that can be switched on during foggy weather so as to avoid collisions from cars approaching from behind

takasumuvalo

a bright red lamp at the rear of a motor car


table lamp

Many will have pleasing recollections of the attractive effect, especially on a winter evening, of a dining car or Pullman train, with its shaded table-lamps throwing their light on napery, cutlery, and glass to give a heartening picture of well-being.

1949 September and October, “The New Tavern Cars”, in Railway Magazine, page 282:


lampion

From French lampion, from Italian lampione, from lampa.


carbide lamp

A simple lamp that produces and burns acetylene (C₂H₂) created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC₂) with water.


butter lamp

A lamp that is a common feature of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the Himalayas.


compact fluorescent lamp

compact fluorescent lamp (plural compact fluorescent lamps)

A type of fluorescent lamp (that may or may not contain mercury).


plasma lamp

A kind of gas-discharge lamp: a clear glass container, often an orb, filled with a mixture of various noble gases at low pressure, and driven by high frequency alternating current at high voltage.

lampe à plasma

a clear glass container, filled with a mixture of various gases at low pressure


microlight

I’ve flown in flimsy microlights, soaring serenely above rich farmland. I’ve ridden tactical combat helicopters missions, skimming the desert floor and banking hard around sand dunes.

2020 December 5, Nic Robertson, “Saudi Arabia has changed beyond recognition. But will tourists want to visit?”, in CNN:

One of the things making the trip possible is Rutherford’s microlight aircraft. Microlights are small one or two-seat planes used for leisure or personal transport. If she completes her trip, Rutherford will also claim the record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo in a microlight aircraft.

2021 August 18, Rebecca Cairns, “This teenage aviator hopes to be the youngest woman to fly solo around the world”, in CNN:

(aviation) The smallest manned aircraft classification, composed of ultralights and verylights; smaller than light aircraft.

"I took $100, bought microlights and made the gloves myself," said Lim.

2015 June 5, Parija Kavilanz, “His $13 million secret: 'Gloving'”, in CNN:


Chinese lantern

Chinese lantern (plural Chinese lanterns)

Alkekengi officinarum
Alkekengi officinarum#Translingual

Physalis alkekengi
Physalis alkekengi#Translingual

A bladder cherry (Alkekengi officinarum, syn. Physalis alkekengi).


lampstand

What the fuck are you doing with a buddha as a lampstand?

1967, R. D. Laing, The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise:

A menorah or other holder or stand for a lamp.


fog light

(automotive) One of a pair of lights, mounted at the front of a car, below the headlights, usually white or yellow in colour, for increased visibility ahead in foggy driving conditions.

霧燈 /雾灯

one of a pair of lights, mounted at the front of a car


dome light

An interior cabin light with a dome-shaped cover attached to the ceiling of a car, vehicle, room or building. In a vehicle it is considered a safety feature, though usually fitted as standard.


glow stick

A single-use translucent plastic tube containing isolated substances which when combined are capable of producing light through chemoluminescence without an electrical power source; used as an emergency light source or in recreational contexts such as camping and nightclubs.

熒光棒 /荧光棒

a single-use tube with glowing chemicals


cathodoluminescence

cathodoluminescence (countable and uncountable, plural cathodoluminescences)

(physics) A form of luminescence produced by the bombardment of a metal or a phosphor by electrons (as in a traditional television).


sealed beam

The new Sealed Beam Headlights are designed to maintain substantially their initial efficiency throughout their life.

1940, Ralph A. Richardson, Optics and Wheels, General Motors Corporation, p. 25

(technology) A type of electric lamp for producing a beam of light in which the filament is sealed inside a unit consisting of the reflector and lens so as to ensure the alignment of the beam and to protect the reflector from becoming dirty or tarnished.


headlighting

headlighting (countable and uncountable, plural headlightings)

Fortunately, reflectors can be polished or replaced if found defective, thereby considerably improving the efficiency of headlighting on older cars.

1940, Ralph A. Richardson, Optics and Wheels, General Motors Corporation, p. 13


safelight

The lamp in a photographic darkroom, providing illumination only from parts of the visible spectrum to which the photographic material in use is nearly or completely insensitive.


ray of light

(physics) A path that a photon or a group of photons takes through space, visible as a column of light.


mode-locked

(physics) Describing a laser in which several modes of oscillation are synchronized so as to generate a strong, short pulse of light.


banker's lamp

banker's lamp (plural banker's lamps or bankers' lamps)

banker's lamps (plural)
bankers' lamps (plural)
banker lamp (alternative)

A distinctive type of desklamp, usually with a solid ornate base and a single stem leading to a horizontal (usually green) cover.


desklamp

desklamps (plural)
desk lamp (alternative)

A lamp which sits on and is used to illuminate a desk.


grow light

electromagnetic spectrum
electromagnetic spectrum

An electric lamp designed to promote plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis.


rushlight

The rushlight was her friend, and aided her to pass the long, long hours before midnight, for it was enclosed within its accustomed tin cage; […]

1842, [Katherine] Thomson, chapter XI, in Widows and Widowers. A Romance of Real Life., volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 198–199:

After supper Sir Pitt Crawley began to smoke his pipe; and when it became quite dark, he lighted the rushlight in the tin candlestick, and producing from an interminable pocket a huge mass of papers, began reading them, and putting them in order.

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Crawley of Queen’s Crawley”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 61:

As I had asked for a night-light, the chamberlain had brought me in, before he left me, the good old constitutional rushlight of those virtuous days.

1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations:

The nights were almost at their longest now, and the cold was very great; but the watchers piled fresh logs upon the fire, and talked quietly to each other as they sat in the dancing glow--for the rushlight had long since gone out.

1901, Evelyn Everett-Green, In the Wars of the Roses:

(historical) A type of inexpensive candle formed by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease, which emits light for a relatively short period of time.


lightstick

When he woke, he became frightened, fired tracer bullets into the air and waved a fluorescent lightstick to identify himself.

2007 July 30, Steven Erlanger, “Israeli Soldier Is Briefly Left Behind in Gaza”, in New York Times:


foglamp

foglamps (plural)
fog lamp (alternative)

And the XR versions were stuffed with standard gear, including side- and head-curtain air bags, stability control, antilock brakes, 17-inch alloy wheels, a tire pressure monitor, active whiplash-preventing head restraints, foglamps, roof rails, the OnStar communications system and three free months of XM Satellite Radio.

2007 August 26, Lawrence Ulrich, “Germans Land on Saturn and Things Shape Up”, in New York Times:

A wide automotive lamp intended to increase visibility in poor weather conditions.


Bude light

From Bude in Cornwall, the home of its inventor.

(historical) A large light in which a jet of oxygen or air is introduced into the centre of a flame.


eupyrion

From eu- + Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr, “fire”) + -ιον (-ion).

A flint and steel, with matches, or, what is far better, an eupyrion, should always be conveniently placed in the laboratory, and near to it a candle and candlestick

1830, Michael Faraday, Chemical Manipulation:

(archaic, historical) A device historically used for obtaining instantaneous light, such as a lucifer match.


Drummond light

Named after British naval officer and civil engineer Thomas Drummond (1797–1840).


Carcel lamp

Named after its French inventor, Bernard Guillaume Carcel.

(historical) A mechanical lamp from the 19th century, in which a superabundance of oil is pumped to the wick tube by clockwork.


Argand lamp

Argand lamps (plural)
argand lamp (alternative)

Named after inventor Ami Argand of Geneva.

Never was a more lovely thought than that of the astral lamp. I mean, of course, the astral lamp proper, and do not wish to be misunderstood — the lamp of Argand with its original plain ground-glass shade, and its tempered and uniform moonlight rays.

1840, Edgar Allan Poe, The Philosophy of Furniture:

It is probable that Loutherbourg used Argand lamps to achieve his startling effects of meteorology in the Eidophusikon in the mid 1780s.

2007, Christopher Baugh, edited by Moody & O'Quinn, The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre 1730-1830, page 52:

(now historical) A type of oil lamp with a circular hollow wick and glass chimney which allow a current of air both inside and outside of the flame.

quinqué

a lamp with a circular hollow wick and glass chimney


Fresnel lantern

en-noun

Fresnel lantern (plural Fresnel lanterns)

A lantern used in theatre, which employs a Fresnel lens to wash light over an area of the stage.


street lamp

street lamps (plural)
street-lamp (alternative)
streetlamp (alternative)

‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’

1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 242:

Synonym of streetlight (“any large outdoor light used to illuminate a public area”).


Tilley lamp

A kind of kerosene-powered lamp of the nineteenth century.


light fixture

A complete lighting unit, composed of a housing attached to a wall or ceiling, and a mount for a light source.


troffer

Each fluorescent troffer in the room contained three lamps and two ballasts.

Flexibility for troffer systems may be planned in the original layout by coordinating the over-all ceiling pattern with the modular size of troffer.

1956, National Research Council, Design for environment: floor, ceilings, and service systems in multi-story buildings, page 36:

A rectangular, trough-shaped light fixture, typically for mounting in or on a ceiling to light the area below, and usually containing two or three fluorescent bulbs.


swamp gas

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-swamp gas.wav

* (hydrogen sulfide): So called because it is often emitted from wetlands such as swamps as a result of anaerobic bacteria, and is responsible for their foul “rotten egg” odor.
* (ufology): An explanation given by then-skeptic J. Allen Hynek for an alleged UFO sighting in Michigan near Lake Huron in 1966.

Swamp gas occasionally catches fire. Sometimes lightning sets off a patch of swamp gas.


floor lamp

A lamp supported by a tall vertical pole in order that light comes from above those seated in the vicinity.


fountain lamp

A familiar application is the fountain lamp that has several hundred fibers spraying out of the top.

1989, Ron Whittaker, Video Field Production, page 349:

A lamp that consists of a large number of fiber optic tubes that mimic the spray of water from a fountain.


nightlamp

Dr. M'Alpin and he sat up until the extinction of the lights in the lower rooms round the square, and the glimmering of the nightlamps in the upper chambers, warned them that the world had retired to rest[…]

1842, Mrs. Monkland, The Nabob at Home; Or, The Return to England, page 7:


flashlamp

A kind of lamp that uses an electric current to start powder burning and produce a brief sudden burst of bright light. It was formerly used in flash photography.


Yablochkov candle

Yablochkov candle (plural Yablochkov candles)

Named after its inventor, Pavel Yablochkov.

electrical engineering
electrical engineering

(electrical engineering) A type of electric carbon arc lamp.


light ball

(military, historical) A ball of combustible materials, used to provide light, and sometimes made so as to fired from a cannon or mortar, or to be carried up by a rocket.


fairy light

From the similarity of such a light to a fairy lamp (small candle lamp).

(usually in the plural) One of a set of decorative electric lights attached along the length of a cable.


torchiere

torchieres (plural)
torchère (alternative)
torchière (alternative)
torchier (alternative)

A floor lamp with a bowl on top for reflecting light upwards.


blast lamp

A lamp provided with some arrangement for intensifying combustion by means of a blast.


rain lamp

rain lamps (plural)
oil rain lamp (alternative)

Mother looked at the ladder, at the twin lofted beds, at the desk, at the closet, at the throw pillows, at the cheap decorations, at the artwork, at the Christmas lighting, at a rain lamp that I'd acquired a few weeks earlier. It was turned on, illuminated, beads of oil dripping down around a reasonable copy of Athena Parthenos.

2017, Jarett Kobek, The Future Won't Be Long:

(lighting) A type of lamp, popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, that moves droplets of water or oil along filaments to create the illusion of falling rain.


chamber lamp

Position the battery toggle switch (10) figure 4-5 to BATTERY. If the fog chamber lamp illuminates, the indicator is operational.

1984, DS and GS Maintenance Manual, page 4-16:

When the battery is inserted into the MH26/26a charger properly (it's impossible to insert it incorrectly), the battery chamber lamp (labeled L and R) above each chamber will flash slowly while the battery is being replenished.

2014, David Busch, David Busch's Compact Field Guide for the Nikon D4/D4s, →ISBN:

In a classic example (e.g., Skinner 1938; Herrick et al. 1959), a rat's lever presses produce food when a chamber lamp is turned on, while presses in the absence of the light produce nothing.

2015, Florence D. DiGennaro Reed, Derek D. Reed, Autism Service Delivery, →ISBN, page 26:

An indicator light associated with a chamber.


Lantern Festival

the Lantern Festival (plural Lantern Festivals)

the Lantern Festival (canonical)
Lantern Festivals (plural)

From the carrying and displaying of lanterns during such festivals.

A festival marking the end of the Chinese New Year period, celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the Chinese calendar when the first full moon of the year is seen (in February or early March).


tubelight

tubelights (plural)
tube light (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-tubelight.wav

From tube + light. The "dim-witted person" sense arises from their flickering as well as the length of time it takes for one to light up completely after being switched on.

And Modiji, also being Snarkyji, described Rahulji as a tubelight because Rahulji had interjected only a good 40 minutes after Modiji had launched into his Parliamentary speech.

2020 February 7, “Tubelight and other insults”, in Deccan Herald:

(chiefly India, slang) a dim-witted person; someone who is slow to understand or reply.


Star of Bethlehem

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Star of Bethlehem.wav

(biblical) The bright star in the Gospel of Matthew that lead the "wise men from the East" to travel to Bethlehem.


biliblanket

Blend of bilirubin + blanket, originally a brand name, BiliBlanket, trademarked by General Electric's Datex Ohmeda subsidiary, coined in the early 1990s.

The advantage to the biliblanket is that the infant's eyes do not need to be covered as long as the biliblanket is shielded and continuous phototherapy is provided even when holding or feeding the infant.

1997, Wendy L. Votroubek, Julie Townsend, Pediatric Home Care, →ISBN, page 281:

Biliblankets are used as another way of giving a jaundiced baby phototherapy treatment.

2003, Nikki Bradford, Your Premature Baby: The First Five Years, →ISBN, page 28:

For more severe cases a biliblanket may be recommended. It's a special blanket that wraps around the baby and works like concentrated sunlight to break down the bilirubin.

2016, Andrea Purcell, Over 35 and Pregnant, →ISBN:

Any of various light-emitting blankets that are used for home treatment of jaundice in infants.


Christmas light

Christmas light (plural Christmas lights)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Christmas light.wav

(chiefly in the plural) One of the electric lights, often arranged in strings, used at Christmas to decorate a Christmas tree, outdoor trees or bushes, a house, etc.

luz de Natal (usually in the plural "luzes de Natal")

solas Nollaige (usually in the plural "solais Nollaige")

luz de Navidad (usually in the plural "luces de Navidad")


fast-evolving luminous transient

fast-evolving luminous transient (plural fast-evolving luminous transients)

fast-evolving luminous transients (plural)

(astronomy) A type of weak supernova whose luminous shell cools quickly and within days goes dark


neep lantern

A third was a two-headed spectre, the upper one being a fiery head, that bore a suspicious resemblance to a neep lantern, and his body, or what should have been his body, was wrapped in a while sheet.

1873, Thomas Watson, Homely Pearls at Random Strung, page 270:

A neep lantern bobbing by the end of the palisade, near the Smith house, where a clutch of bairns stood in the footpath waiting for him.

2003, Heather Spears, The Flourish, page 347:

He always finished first in the annual Hallowe'en neep lantern competition though it was meant to be done by the pupils themselves.

2013, David M Addison, Confessions of a Banffshire Loon, page 288:

(Scotland) A lantern made from a hollowed-out turnip, traditionally used as decoration at Halloween.


floating light

(historical) A ship, bearing a light, moored on sunken rocks to warn sailors of danger.


Faraday pointer

Faraday pointer (plural Faraday pointers)

A pointer or torch/flashlight powered by a battery that may be recharged by shaking.


LFL

(scouting) Initialism of Learning for Life.

Libertarians for Life
w:Libertarians for Life

“The LFL salutes all those who make this the greatest the country in the world, and we stand in salute of our flag.”

2017 September 27, Joe Tacopino, “Lingerie football league says ‘we stand’ for national anthem”, in New York Post:

Lingerie Football League
w:Lingerie Football League

(sports, American football) Initialism of Lingerie Football League.

Legends Football League
w:Legends Football League

(sports, American football) Initialism of Legends Football League.


range light

One of the lights on board ship placed to give a ready indication of changes of course to other vessels.


electric light

electric light (countable and uncountable, plural electric lights)

The electric light system at Paddington is a very large one. There are 101 of these big lights of 2.000 candle power each, 4,000 of 25, and 23 of 100 candle power respectively, […].

1944 July and August, “London Railway Stations in 1893”, in Railway Magazine, page 201, taken from The English Illustrated Magazine of June 1893:


big light

Who put the big light on? It's like Blackpool Illuminations in here!

(UK, informal) The main, usually central, light of a room in a house.


rush candle

A candle of tallow or wax that uses a piece of rush as a wick.


moonlight tower

moonlight tower (plural moonlight towers)

From moonlight + tower. From being a tower providing illumination akin to moonlight.

(historical) A high tower fitted with arclights, formerly common in 19th-century cities with electricity, as a means of illuminating public spaces.


pocket light

pocket lights (plural)
pocketlight (alternative)

A flashlight small enough to fit in someone's pocket.


courtesy light

(automotive) A small light inside a motor vehicle that automatically switches on when a door is opened.


water fire

(Ocracoke Island) Light appearing on the body of swampy water at night due to gases released by decaying plant matter.


Betty lamp

Betty lamps (plural)
betty lamp (alternative)
betty-lamp (alternative)

Derives its name from German besser (“better”).

You, who have more or less trouble with your rush lights, cannot fancy how luxurious it is to have one of these betty-lamps, which costs in care no more than is required to fill them with grease or oil.

Taking the long candlestick from the windowsill, she hurries to the betty lamp, pulls its wick out with the chain pick, and lights her candle from the bear fat flame.

1999, J G Passarella, Wither, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 160:

(historical) A lamp consisting of a shallow lidded metal vessel with a small spout for a coarse wick, fueled by tallow, grease, or oil, usually hung by a hook and chain, and used especially in the American colonies.


bisexual lighting

bisexual lighting (countable and uncountable, plural bisexual lightings)

/baɪˌsɛkʃʊəl ˈlaɪtɪŋ/

From bisexual (adjective) + lighting (noun), referring to the pink, purple, and blue colours of the bisexual flag (also known as the bisexual pride flag).

(LGBTQ, often art, film, television) The simultaneous use of pink, purple, and blue lighting, often to indicate bisexuality.


plasma globe

A particularly cool example of a plasma is one of those “Eye of the Storm” plasma globes.

2020, Don Lincoln, The Large Hadron Collider, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 198:

boule à plasma

spherical plasma lamp — see also plasma lamp


accountant's lamp

accountant's lamp (plural accountant's lamps or accountants' lamps)

accountant's lamps (plural)
accountants' lamps (plural)

Spencer has left the door to his study open. I turn on the green accountant's lamp. A thousand times I have come into this room, but never with the intent of finding something.

2003, Jodi Picoult, Second Glance, Atria Books export edition, Atria Books, published 2007, →ISBN, page 237:


Jablochkoff candle

Yablochkov candle
Yablochkov candle#English


flame lamp

A type of filament lamp in which the bulb's shape resembles a flame.


ghost light

(theater) A light that is left energised on the stage of a theatre when the theatre is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark.