luminoso

Forms

luminoso (feminine luminosa, masculine plural luminosi, feminine plural luminose, superlative luminosissimo)^[1] Old Italian forms include lumenosa and luminoxo.^[2]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin lūminōsus (“full of light”), from lūmen (“light”) and the suffix -ōsus.^[3][4][5][1] DEI and GDLI compare Old French lumineux, recorded in the 13th century.^[6][7]

The word is learned in every Romance language: Romanian luminos, Old Occitan luminos, French lumineux, Catalan lluminós, Spanish luminoso and Portuguese luminoso.^[8] Its popular relative is lume, from the same Latin word.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Restoro d'Arezzo in 1282, in the sense “shining with light”.^[2][4] DELI gives Dante as the first, from 1300–13.^[10]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the word for a place full of light: “In luogo aperto, luminoso e alto” (in an open place, full of light and high).^[11] In the Convivio (1304–08) a corpo luminoso is a body that gives light of its own.^[10][11] The figurative sense of a truth that is clear and evident was already in Old Italian, and DELI dates it to Muratori in 1723.^[2][10]

Modern Italian added technical uses: raggio luminoso and other terms of optics, the insegna luminosa or lit sign, and of a photographic lens, one that lets in much light.^[3][12] Figuratively an idea luminosa is a brilliant idea, and a sorriso luminoso a radiant smile.^[4][3]

Timeline

• 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses luminoso.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses it of what gives off light.^[10]
• 1304–1308 – Corpo luminoso appears in Dante's Convivio.^[10]
• 1723 – Muratori uses it for “clear, evident”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Giving off light; shining: Lungo la strada brillavano le insegne luminose.^[3][13][14]
2. Of light, relating to light as a physical phenomenon: raggio luminoso.^[3][13]
3. Full of light, well lit; of the sky, clear; of a colour, bright: una cucina molto luminosa.^[3][14]
4. (literary) Glittering, gleaming.^[3][14]
5. (figurative) Of a face, smile or look, radiant.^[3][4]
6. (figurative) Of reasoning or style, clear and evident.^[3][13]
7. (figurative) Outstanding, shining as an example: un luminoso esempio di coraggio.^[3][13]
8. (figurative) Of an idea, sudden and brilliant.^[3][4]
9. (photography) Of a lens, having a large aperture.^[3][4]

Word family

• luminosità
• luminosamente

Related words

• lume
• luminare
• Latin lumen

Usage notes

Wiktionary gives the pronunciations /lu.miˈno.zo/ and /lu.miˈno.so/;^[1][4] Zingarelli also allows both, with voiced or voiceless s.^[1][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2284
7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
9. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier