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lumen

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Etymology and origin of the French word lumen

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1894 André-Eugène Blondel More words from the 19th century
Borrowed from
Latin lumen
Ultimate origin
Latin lūmen
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lūmen
Aromanian lumi
Italian lume
Romanian lume
French lumen
English lumen
From the same root
Latin lūmināre ← lūmen
Latin lūminō ← lūmen
Latin lūminōsus ← lūmen

Pronunciation

Forms

lumen m (plural lumens)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lūmen (“light”).[2][3][4][1] Etymonline says that the French physicist André-Eugène Blondel coined the unit name in 1894.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It was coined in physics as the name of a unit of luminous flux.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The dictionaries date the word differently: Etymonline gives 1894, the Petit Robert 1897, the TLFi 1912 (Escard, on electric lamps), the Grand Robert 1922 and the GLLF 1923, from Larousse.[5][4][2][3][6][7] It is defined in relation to the candela: the flux that a uniform point source of one candela sends into a solid angle of one steradian.[2][6][4] In English the unit name is recorded from 1897.[5]

Timeline

  • 1894 – Blondel coins the unit name.[5]
  • 1897 – The Petit Robert's date of first record.[4]
  • 1912 – Escard uses it in a book on electric lamps.[2][7]
  • 1923 – Larousse records it.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (physics) The lumen, the SI unit of luminous flux (symbol lm).[2][4][1]
  2. (anatomy) The cavity inside a tubular organ.[1]
  3. (botany) The cavity inside a plant cell.[1]

Usage notes

Littré gives Lumen as the name of the 141st asteroid, discovered in 1875 by Paul Henry, and makes it feminine.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lumen.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lumen. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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