lighter English · revision 7998
16 Oct 2026, 14:48 by bogdan “en10k b0327: lighter … suspicious” current version
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+ Lighter, a barge, and lighter, a device for lighting, are separate words: the first is related to lighten, unload, and the second is formed on the verb light, to kindle.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈlaɪtə/, /ˈlɑj-/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlaɪtəɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|device for lighting}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1553}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is an agent noun formed from the verb [[light]], to kindle, and [[-er]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ One who lights or kindles: 1553.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ An instrument for lighting gas jets or candles, often a twist of paper, is from 1851,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the mechanical cigarette lighter from 1895.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The compound ''lighter-up'' is recorded in 1921.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1553 – one who lights.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1851 – a lighting device.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1895 – a cigarette lighter.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A small device that produces a flame for lighting [[cigarette|alt=cigarettes]], cigars or pipes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A person or thing that ignites something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[cigarette lighter]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|barge}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=1372–74}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is Middle English, perhaps formed from light, to lighten a load, and -er,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) or from Middle Dutch *lichter (Dutch [[m|nl|lichter]]), from lichten, to lighten, unload.^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A flat-bottomed barge: 1372–74 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the late 15th century in Etymonline, 1487 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Lighters are used for loading or unloading ships that cannot approach a wharf.^(Etymonline) ''Lighterman'' is an early compound.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to carry goods in a lighter, is from 1840,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and ''lighterage'', the conveying of goods by lighter or its charge, is a related noun.^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1372–74 – a barge.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1610 – lighterman and other compounds.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1840 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A large flat-bottomed [[barge]] for carrying cargo between ships and the shore.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To carry cargo in a lighter.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[lighterage]]
+ * [[lighterman]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[light]]
+ * [[lighten]]
+ * [[alight]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ In Scots, ''to be lighter'', of a woman, meant to be delivered of a child.^(Wright 1898)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}