lamp English · revision 10311

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=fro lampe|origins=la lampas|origins=grc λαμπάς}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlæ̞mp/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlæ̝mp/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English lampe, laumpe, [[bor|fro|lampe|t=lamp, lights]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Late Latin lampada, from Latin lampas, a torch,^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(Etymonline) from Greek [[m|grc|λαμπάς|tr=lampás|t=torch, lamp, beacon, meteor]], from [[m|grc|λάμπειν|tr=lámpein|t=to shine]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) perhaps from a nasalized form of PIE *lehp-, to light, glow, source also of Old Irish lassair, flame, Lithuanian lópė, light, and Hittite lap-, to glow.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A vessel of oil burnt at a wick to give light: about 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Used for a torch it is from 1382,^(OED 1989) and of a heavenly body, the sun, moon or a star, from 1423.^(OED 1989) The eyes have been lamps since 1590, once poetic and now slang.^(OED 1989) Figuratively a source of spiritual or intellectual light is from 1500–20,^(OED 1989) and a literary work that ''smells of the lamp'' shows signs of laborious study (1579).^(OED 1989) The miner's safety lamp is from 1839.^(OED 1989) ''Lamplight'' is from about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – an oil lamp.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1380 – lamplight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1423 – a heavenly body.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1500–20 – a source of light (figurative).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590 – the eyes.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1839 – a safety lamp.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A device that gives [[light]], such as an electric, gas or oil lamp.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A vessel of oil or other fuel burned through a wick to give light.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A device that produces heat or therapeutic radiation: ''an ultraviolet lamp''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A source of spiritual or intellectual light.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lampless]]

+ * [[headlamp]]

+ * [[lamppost]]

+ * [[lampshade]]

+ * [[flashlamp]]

+ * [[lampblack]]

+ * [[lamplight]]

+ * [[lamplighter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lantern]]

+ * [[limpid]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots, a separate verb lamp, of unknown origin, means to stride along quickly.^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}