lumen Latin · revision 6466

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Naevius|origins=ine-pro *lewk-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈɫuː.mɛn]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈluː.men]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lūmen''' ''n'' (genitive lūminis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*louksmən]], from *leuqs-men or *louqs-men, from the root [[ine-pro|*lewk-|t=light, brightness]] of [[lūx]] “light”, [[lūceō]] “to shine” and [[lūna]] “moon”.^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler's first source is Naevius, whom he dates c. 235–200 BC.^(Köbler 2010) The OLD's first citation is Ennius, who speaks of one lighting another's lamp from his own light.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant light, radiance, as the light of the sun and of a lamp in Cicero, daylight, a day, and the light of life as opposed to the darkness below.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) In law the plural ''lūmina'' were a house's right to light.^(OLD 2012) It meant a light, a luminary, a lamp, with ''prīmīs lūminibus'' “at lamp-lighting”, as in Horace, and of persons a guiding light.^(OLD 2012) It meant reflected light, shine, brightness of colour, a window or opening, and the eye, sight, as in Lucretius and Virgil, with ''lūminibus captus'' “blind”.^(OLD 2012) Figuratively it meant enlightenment, and a glory, ornament, as Cicero's ''lūmina'' of style.^(OLD 2012) Döderlein says ''lūmen'' is a luminous body, [[lūx]] a stream of light.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it also meant the eye, sight, and a ''homo dē lūmine'' was a church tributary paying wax.^(Niermeyer 1976) It survives in Italian and Portuguese ''lume'', Spanish ''lumbre'' and Romanian ''lumină'', and the DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance */ˈlumen/ “lamp, light”.^(Wiktionary)^(DÉRom) [[en|lumen]] was coined as a unit of light in 1894, and [[en|luminous]] comes from ''lūminōsus''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a lamp's light.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of light, windows and ornaments of style.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 15th century – English ''luminous'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|Light]], radiance.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Daylight; a day; the light of life.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(law, plural)'' The right to light.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A light, lamp; a luminary; a guiding light.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Brightness, shine.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A window, opening.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The [[m|en|eye]]; sight.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Enlightenment; a glory, ornament.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lūminō]]

+ * [[lūminōsus]]

+ * [[lūminātus]]

+ * [[lūmināre]]

+ * [[lūminātor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lūx]]

+ * [[lūceō]]

+ * [[lūna]]

+ * [[en|lumen]]

+ * [[en|luminous]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}