light English · revision 3609

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /laɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|illumination}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf (Old English lēoht)|origins=ine-pro *leuk-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The light that lets us see is [[inh|enm|liht]], [[inh|ang|lēoht|t=light, daylight; spiritual illumination]] (Anglian [[m|ang|lēht]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*leukhtam]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*leuk-|t=light, brightness]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) Its relatives include [[de|Licht]] and [[nl|licht]], and outside Germanic [[la|lūx|t=light]] and [[grc|λευκός|tr=leukós|t=white, bright]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021) the sources of English [[lucid]] and [[leukaemia]].^(Cresswell 2021) The spelling gh was a French scribal way of writing the Old English h sound, which has since been lost.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Light, daylight; spiritual illumination: Old English ''lēoht'', about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A source of joy has been ''the light of one's eyes'' since Old English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The form ''liht'' is found about 1175, and ''light'' before 1325, after ''gh'' had begun to replace ''h'' in the early 14th century.^(Barnhart 1988) A window has been a ''light'' since 1387.^(HTOED) ''To stand in someone's light'' is from the late 14th century, and “mental illumination” from the mid-15th.^(Etymonline) ''According to one's lights'' preserves a sense from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) The Quakers' ''inner light'' and the religious ''New Light'' are from the 1650s.^(Etymonline) A person eminent in some field has been a ''light'' since the 1590s.^(Etymonline) “Something to ignite with” and ''in the light of'' date from the 1680s, as does ''see the light'', “be born”, which came to mean “understand at last” in 1812.^(Etymonline) ''Light'' for a traffic light is from 1938.^(Etymonline) The adjective “bright” is Old English, and “pale”, as in ''light blue'', is from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to set on fire” in late Old English, “to give light to” from about 1200, and “to shine” from about 1300.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''lēoht'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – verb, to give light to.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1387 – a window.^(HTOED)

+ * mid-15th century – mental illumination.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – adjective, pale.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – an eminent person.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1680s – ''in the light of''; something to ignite with.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1812 – ''see the light'', understand.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1938 – a traffic light.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[electromagnetic radiation]] that the eye can perceive; brightness.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A source of light, such as a [[lamp]]; a [[traffic light]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Something used to set a fire going: ''a light for a cigarette''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A [[window]] or other opening that admits light.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # An aspect or point of view: ''in a new light''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Spiritual or intellectual [[enlightenment]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A prominent person: ''a leading light''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Full of light; bright.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Pale in colour: ''light blue''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To set on fire; to [[ignite]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To provide with light; to [[illuminate]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ {{homograph|2|not heavy}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 899 (Alfred)|origins=ine-pro *legʷh-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective “not heavy” is [[inh|enm|liht]], [[inh|ang|lēoht|t=not heavy; easy; quick, agile]] (later [[m|ang|līht]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*lingkhtaz]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*legʷh-|t=not heavy, having little weight]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) Its relatives include [[de|leicht|t=light; easy]], [[non|léttr]], [[la|levis|t=light]] and [[grc|ἐλαχύς|tr=elakhús|t=small]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The Word Origins dictionary relates it to [[lung]], the light organ, and to [[lights]], the lungs of an animal sold as food.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb “to alight” is [[m|ang|līhtan|t=to alight; to make less heavy]], from the adjective, the idea being to relieve a horse of one's weight.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Not heavy: Old English ''lēoht'', before 899, in Alfred's translation of Orosius.^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart notes that Old English already had many extended senses: lightly built, gentle, easily digested, trivial.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “frivolous” is from the early 13th century and “unchaste” from the late 14th, both from a lack of moral weight, as in ''levity''.^(Etymonline) Light coins of short weight are recorded from 1493.^(HTOED) ''Make light of'' is from the 1520s, ''light horse'' from the 1530s and light literature from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) ''Light industry'' is from 1919 and the advertisers' spelling ''lite'' from 1962.^(Etymonline) The verb ''līhtan'' meant “to descend, dismount” about 1175,^(Barnhart 1988) and “to come upon by chance”, ''light on'', from about 1470.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Light out'', “to leave in a hurry”, appears in Mark Twain's ''Letters from Hawaii'' (1866), and ''light into'', “to attack”, in 1889, both American.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – Old English ''lēoht'' (Alfred).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1175 – verb, to dismount.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 13th century – frivolous.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1470 – ''light on'', to come upon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – ''make light of''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1866 – ''light out'' (Mark Twain).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1919 – ''light industry''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1962 – ''lite''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of little weight; not heavy.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Gentle, exerting little force: ''a light touch''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # Small in amount or intensity: ''light rain''.^(AHD)

+ # Easy to do or bear: ''light duties''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # Not serious; entertaining: ''light reading''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Low in fat, calories or alcohol.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Nimble, agile.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # With little luggage: ''travel light''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To get down, as from a horse; to [[alight]] or land.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(with on or upon)'' To come upon by chance.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lightness]]

+ * [[lightly]]

+ * [[lucid]]

+ * [[lunar]]

+ * [[lightning]]

+ * [[lighten]]

+ * [[alight]]

+ * [[lung]]

+ * [[levity]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary accepts both ''lighted'' and ''lit'' as the past tense and as adjectives.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}