light meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

light

nounalso spelled Light

UK [laɪt] · US [ɫɐɪt]

Etymology

From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English lēoht, from Proto-West Germanic *leuht, from Proto-Germanic *leuhtą, from Proto-Indo-European *lewktom, from the root *lewk- (“to shine”). Cognates * Scots licht (“light”) * Saterland Frisian Ljoacht, Lucht (“light”) * West Frisian ljocht (“light”) * Dutch licht (“light”) * German Licht (“light”) * German Low German Licht (“light”) * Limburgish Leech, Leet, Léït (“light”) * Luxembourgish Liicht (“light”) * Vilamovian łicht (“light”) * Yiddish ליכט (likht, “light”) * Danish and Norwegian Bokmål lys (“light”) * Elfdalian liuos (“light”) * Faroese and Icelandic ljós (“light”) * Norwegian Nynorsk ljos, ljus, lys (“light”) * Swedish ljus (“light”) * Latin lūx (“light”) * Russian луч (luč, “beam of light”) * Armenian լույս (luys, “light”) * Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”) * Persian رُخش (roxš).

20 senses

1Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range…
2Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range…
3Electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength.
4A source of illumination.
5A lightbulb or similar light-emitting device, regardless…
6A traffic light, or (by extension) an intersection…
7Spiritual or mental illumination; enlightenment, useful…
8Facts; pieces of information; ideas, concepts.
9A notable person within a specific field or discipline.
10The manner in which the light strikes a picture; that…
11A point of view, or aspect from which a concept, person…
12A flame or something used to create fire.
13A cigarette lighter.
14A firework made by filling a case with a substance which…
15A window in architecture, carriage design, or motor car…
16The series of squares reserved for the answer to a…
17A cross-light in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.
18Open view; a visible state or condition; public…
19The power of perception by vision: eyesight (sightedness…
20The brightness of the eye or eyes.

Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range visible to the human eye (about 400–750 nanometers): visible light.

As you can see, this spacious dining-room gets a lot of light in the mornings.
Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,[…], and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

3 more examples

Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages.2013 July 20, “Out of the gloom”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
When the studio light is on, I am recording my evening show.2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

Broadly Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range visible to the human eye or in nearby ranges (infrared or ultraviolet radiation).

black light

Broadly, Uncommon Electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength.

It’s everywhere. At this moment, as you sit quietly reading this book, you are awash in it. At work, it’s emanating from your electronic devices; step outside for lunch, and the sun bathes you in it. You may receive an extra dose of it when you visit your doctor, pass through security at the airport, or drive through city streets, but minuscule amounts of it are with you always. You cannot see, hear, smell, or feel it, but there is never a single second when it is not flying through your body. Too much of it will kill you, but without it you wouldn’t live a year. “Invisible light” seems like a contradiction. Like Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” it’s an oxymoron. We think of light, by definition, as something seen, something that enables our seeing, illuminating the darkness. Unlike dogs, who sniff in order to “get” what an object is, we depend on vision above all our other senses. We rely on light to tell us about our surroundings. But just as there are frequencies of sound audible to other animals that we cannot hear, there is a whole world of light outside our range of vision, a world that is humming with activity. Though we rarely think about this invisible world, our way of life depends on it. It’s because of invisible light that you can do things such as send a text message, use GPS to find your way to a friend’s house, listen to the radio, or microwave a frozen pizza. Invisible light shows us things we would never otherwise see, including our own skeletons and brains and the history of our universe. I was reminded of just how much we rely on invisible light, and how mysterious it remains to us, during a visit from my sister and her family. It was a lazy summer afternoon, and we were sprawled across a few couches sharing a bowl of popcorn. My niece, her shoulders crimson after a day outdoors, was chatting on her cell phone, holding up a promising finger to her mother, who was scolding her for not using sunscreen. My brother-in-law, meanwhile, was asking my opinion on an article he’d read proposing that Wi-Fi be banned in schools because of its dangers. We were all depending on invisible light (for the microwave popcorn, the cell-phone service) while being concerned that it might harm us (sunburn, mysterious Wi-Fi health threats) and confused about what to do to protect ourselves. We need it, and it surrounds us, yet we remain uneasy about living with invisible light, partly because we fear what is unknown. After all, most of us don’t know much about “all the light we cannot see.” This book aims to change that. My hope is to expose the hidden side of the spectrum, to make the invisible (at least temporarily) visible and vivid to you.2017, Bob Berman, Zapped: From Infrared to X-rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light, Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, pages 8-9:

A source of illumination.

Put that light out!
And the light ſhineth in darkneſſe, and the darkneſſe compꝛehended it not.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 1:5:

1 more example

He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

A lightbulb or similar light-emitting device, regardless of whether it is lit.

We turned off all the lights and went to sleep.
The ceiling lights were off, but I knew the narrow light spilling from the lamp on my bureau would be enough for her to see the pale red marks on my chest, which had been fading for so long they had gone back to being shiny again.2016 August 7, Jameson Rich, “The Shirt Stays On”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2022:

A traffic light, or (by extension) an intersection controlled by traffic lights.

To get to our house, turn right at the third light.

Figuratively Spiritual or mental illumination; enlightenment, useful information.

Can you throw any light on this problem?
He shall never know / That I had any light of this from thee.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

2 more examples

A sudden light broke upon him and he repeated the first line with expression.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries:
Greatly interested in these differences—some of them so great that they led me to seek exchanges of light with Englishmen—I looked for some work that would describe and account for them with a show of completeness, and perhaps depict the process of their origin.[1921 [1919], H. L. Mencken, The American Language, 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, →OCLC:

Archaic, In plural Facts; pieces of information; ideas, concepts.

Now these notions are twofold, actions or habits[…], which are durable lights and notions, which we may use when we will.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
"Well, there's her statement of her case, and according to her lights, it's a just one. She's got a slum-bred mind."1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 164:

A notable person within a specific field or discipline.

Picasso was one of the leading lights of the cubist movement.
Joan of Arc, a light of ancient France1842, Alfred Tennyson, “A Dream of Fair Women”, in Poems. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

The manner in which the light strikes a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or other scene; opposed to shade.

A point of view, or aspect from which a concept, person or thing is regarded.

I'm really seeing you in a different light today.
Magoon's governorship in Cuba was viewed in a negative light by many Cuban historians for years thereafter.

3 more examples

Frequent consideration of a thing […] shows it in its several lights and various ways of appearance.1692–1717, Robert South, “Why Christ’s Doctrine was Rejected by the Jews”, in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
Thy ſteddy Temper, Portius, Can look on Guilt, Rebellion, Fraud, and Cæſar, In the calm Lights of mild Philoſophy; […]1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:
Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in this light, they had no more to say.1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

A flame or something used to create fire.

"There will, I expect, be many such - possibly whole cities in flames - when we consider how many folk may have dropped with lights in their hands."1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

Slang A cigarette lighter.

Hey, buddy, you got a light?

A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or coloured flame.

a Bengal light

A window in architecture, carriage design, or motor car design: either the opening itself or the window pane of glass that fills it, if any.

This facade has eight south-facing lights.

The series of squares reserved for the answer to a crossword clue.

The average length of a light on a 15×15 grid is 7 or 8.

Informal A cross-light in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.

Open view; a visible state or condition; public observation; publicity.

The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

The power of perception by vision: eyesight (sightedness; vision).

My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eies, it also is gone from me.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 38:10:

The brightness of the eye or eyes.

He seemed to find his way without his eyes; / For out o'door he went without their helps, / And, to the last, bended their light on me.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

Synonyms: visible light, luminance, radiation
Antonyms: darkness, T-ray, X-ray, alpha ray, beta ray, gamma ray, infrared, longwave, mediumwave, microwave, radio wave, shortwave, ultraviolet
Derived terms: 281 terms
aberration of light, antilight, antilights, arc light, bad light, batement light, Bengola light, betalight, better light, bili light, blue light bandit, blue light disco, blue-light special, borrowed light, bright lights, bright lights and cold steel, bring to light, by one's lights, can light, cast light on, catch the light, city lights, cold-cathode light, cold steel and bright lights, colour light, colour light signal, come to light, cosmic light horizon, deadlight, density of light, electric light bug, elf-light, enlight, enlighten, fairy lights, false light, fanlight, faster than light, faster-than-light, faster-than-light particle, fill light, first light, floating light, floodlight, Friday night lights, give a light, go out like a light, greenlight, guiding light, half-light, hard light, hide one's light under a bushel, hold a light, hyperlight, indicator light, in light of, in someone's light, in the cold light of day, in the light of, inward light, jump the lights, keep the lights on, kilolight, knock someone's lights out, leaded light, leading light, leadlight, let there be light, lidar, light at the end of the tunnel, light ball, lightbar, light barrel, light barrier, light-bearing, light bill, lightboard, lightboat, lightbox, light box, light bucket, light-bulbed, lightbulb, light bulb, light buoy, light century, light characteristic, light clock, light-collecting power, light cone, light curve, light day, light decade, light-dependent resistor, light due, light echo, light elf, light-emitting diode, light engineering, light eon, light equation, lightfast, light field, light fixture, lightfront, lightful, light-gathering power, light gele, light globe, light grasp, lightguide, light gun, lighthead, light hour, lighthouse, light intensity, light jockey, lightkeeper, lightless, lightlike, lightman, lightmans, lightmap, lightmapping, light meter, light microscope, light-mile, light mill, light millennium, light minute, light money, lightmonger, light month, light-nanosecond, light-off temperature, light of nature, light of one's eye, light of one's life, light-o'-love, light on the hill, light organ, light painting, light panel, lightpath, light pen, light pillar, light pipe, light-polluted, light pollution, light porter, lightpost, light probe, light profile, lightproof, lightray, light ray, lightroom, lightsaber, light sail, lights, camera, action, lightscape, light-scattering photometry, lightscot, light second, light sector, light-sensitive, lightshade, lightshift, lightship, light-shot, light show, light-skirts, light source, lights out, lights-out, light spectrum, lightspeed, light speed, lightstation, light station, lightstick, lightstrip, light-struck, light switch, light table, light therapy, light-tight, light time, light trespass, lightvessel, lightward, lightwards, light wave, light week, lightwell, lightwood, lightwork, lightworker, light year, livers and lights, looplight, lovelight, lowlight, luthern-light, make a light, marker light, marsh light, matchlight, microlight, midlight, more heat than light, multilight, nonlight, northern lights, offer the light, one-way light time, out like a light, overlight, peak of eternal light, penlight, pick-to-light, pipe-light, pocketlight, porchlight, portlight, punch someone's lights out, put on the red light, put someone's light out, put someone's lights out, quarter light, quarterlight, rainlight, Range of Light, ray of light, reading light, ringlight, running lights, rushlight, the light, the light of day, set light, shed light on, shed light upon, shine a light on, shine light on, Shine the Light Law, shoot the lights out, skylight, snowlight, southern lights, spacelight, speedlight, speed of light, Spirit of Light, Spooklight, stand in one's own light, St. Elmo's light, stop the lights, straylight, strike a light, striplight, strip light, sub-light, super-light, sweetness and light, tealight, the lights are on but nobody's home, the lights are on but no one's home, throw light on, thunderlight, toplight, torchlight, trick of the light, tubelight, underlight, uplight, warlight, watchlight, waxlight, windowlight, yellow light of death
Related terms: photon
Hypernyms: electromagnetic radiation
Hyponyms: 138 terms
accidental light, afterlight, amber light, anchor light, ancient lights, available light, bad light, bedlight, Bengal light, big light, black light, blue light, boob light, booklight, brake light, Bude light, calcium light, candlelight, catchlight, cherry light, Christmas light, circularly polarized light, circular polarized light, cocklight, coherent light, cold light, Coston light, courtesy light, crosslight, dark light, dashlight, dawnlight, daylight, dome light, downlight, drop light, Drummond light, dry light, dummy light, dusklight, earthlight, electric light, evenlight, extragalactic background light, Finsen light, firelight, flamelight, flashlight, floodlight, fog light, footlight, forelight, gaslight, ghost light, glowlight, green light, grow light, guidelight, hard light, hazard light, headlight, Hessdalen light, houselight, icelight, idiot light, immeasurable light, interlight, isophase light, jacklight, key light, klieg light, lamplight, lanternlight, limelight, magnesium light, Marfa light, Min Min light, mood light, moonlight, natural light, navigation light, neon light, nightlight, occulting light, owl light, oxycalcium light, oxyhydrogen light, parking light, park light, pendant light, pilot light, plane polarized light, pocket light, polarized light, polar lights, practical light, quarry light, quick light, range light, rear light, red light, riding light, ring light, roof light, rough service light, running light, safelight, sea-light, searchlight, skylight, slow light, spotlight, stack light, starlight, stop-and-go light, stoplight, streetlight, strobe light, sunlight, swag light, synchrotron light, taillight, tally light, top light, track light, trouble light, twilight, ultraviolet light, Very light, warning light, white light, Wood's light, X-light, yardlight, Yehudi lights, yellow light, zircon light, zodiacal light
Meronyms: bioluminescence, color, photograph

light

verb

Etymology From Middle English lighten, lihten, from Old English līehtan (“to light, to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *liuhtijaną, from *leuhtą + *-janą. Cognate with German leuchten (“to shine”).

To start (a fire).

We lit the fire to get some heat.

To set fire to; to set burning.

She lit her last match.
if a thousand candles be all lighted from one1627, G[eorge] H[akewill], An Apologie of the Power and Prouidence of God in the Gouernment of the World. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, […], →OCLC:

To illuminate; to provide light for when it is dark.

I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night.
19th century', Frederic Harrison, The Fortnightly Review One hundred years ago, to have lit this theatre as brilliantly as it is now lighted would have cost, I suppose, fifty pounds.

3 more examples

The Sun has set, and Vesper, to supply / His absent beams, had lighted up the sky.1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
It was lighted by a couple of windows, one of which favoured an intimate inspection of two chimney pots, and a diagonal section of the Town Hall clock.1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 7:
"Can I light you down to your cab?"1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 9:

To become ignited; to take fire.

This soggy match will not light.

To attend or conduct with a light; to show the way to by means of a light.

His bishops lead him forth, and light him on.1824, Walter Savage Landor, Imaginary Conversations: Richard I and the Abbot of Boxley:

To make (a bonus) available to be collected by hitting a target, and thus light up the feature light corresponding to that bonus to indicate its availability.

Light the extra ball by amassing 500 million points in the wizard mode.

Derived terms: better to light a candle than to curse the darkness, better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness, better to light one candle than to curse the darkness, better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness, chain-light, highlight, kick the tires and light the fires, lightable, light a fire under, light off, light on, light one's hair on fire, light someone's fire, light the touch-paper, light-up, light up, light upon, light up the tote, mislight, overlight, prelight, relight, unlight, uplight
Related terms: belight, inlight

light

adj

Etymology From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English lēoht (“luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent, renowned, beautiful”), from Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz (“light”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian ljoacht (“light”), Dutch licht, German licht.

Having light; bright; clear; not dark or obscure.

The room is light when the Sun shines through the window.
Historic England explained the listing: "The station's unique design employs a high level of sophistication and innovation through its use of conoid shells supported on a cruck-like frame, which not only create a dramatic aesthetic form, but endow the building with a light and spacious interior."2023 March 22, Philip Haigh, “Five configuration stages to boost Manchester rail capacity”, in RAIL, number 979, page 31:

Pale or whitish in color; highly luminous and more or less deficient in chroma.

She had light skin.
'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the Sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Of coffee Served with extra milk or cream.

I like my coffee light.

Synonyms: bright, lightful, pale, white, with milk, with cream
Derived terms: Light Alfs, light bread, light brown apple moth, lightface, lightfaced, light-haired, lightie, lightish, light matter, Light Net, light orange, light paper, light plough, light side of the Force, lightskin, light-skinned, lightsome, lightsomely, lightsomeness, Light Web, lightwood, nonlight, noonlight, overlight
Related terms: lightness, lighty

light

adv

Etymology

From Middle English liȝt, lyghte, from Old English lēht, lēoht, līht, from Proto-West Germanic *lį̄ht, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz or *līhtaz (“light (in weight)”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“lightweight”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch licht (“light (not heavy)”), German leicht (“light (not heavy)”), Luxembourgish liicht (“lightweight”), Vilamovian łajcht (“easy”), Yiddish לײַכט (laykht, “light (of low weight)”), Danish let (“light (not heavy)”), Faroese lættur (“light (of weight); easy (to do)”), Icelandic léttur (“light (not weighing much); easy”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk lett (“light (not heavy); easy”), Swedish lätt (“light; of low weight”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (leihts, “light (in weight)”); also Irish léim (“jump, leap; obstacle to be jumped; chasm, promontory”), Scottish Gaelic leum, lèim (“bound, frisk, leap; jump”), Welsh llai (“smaller; fewer, less”), Latin levis (“light (not heavy)”), Greek ελαφρός (elafrós, “lightweight; slight, thin, weak”), Albanian lehtë (“lightweight; easy”), Lithuanian lengvas (“light (not heavy); easy”), Belarusian лёгкі (ljóhki, “light (not heavy); easy”), Bulgarian and Macedonian лек (lek, “light (not heavy)”), Czech lehký (“light (of low weight); easy”), Polish lekki, lętki (“light (having little physical weight); easy (not demanding much effort; not difficult)”), Russian лёгкий (ljóxkij, “lightweight; easy”), Serbo-Croatian ла̏к, ла̏ган, lȁk, lȁgan (“easy; light (not heavy)”), Slovak ľahký (“light (of low weight); easy”), Slovene lahek (“light (of low weight); easy”), Ukrainian легки́й (lehkýj, “lightweight”), Armenian լանջ (lanǰ), լանջք (lanǰkʻ, “breast; mountain slope”), Persian لاغر (lâġar, “lithe; skinny; slender; thin”), Tocharian B lankᵤtse (“light (not heavy)”), Sanskrit लघु (laghu), रघु (raghu, “easy, light, not heavy or difficult”).

Carrying little.

I prefer to travel light.

Derived terms: travel light
Related terms: lightliness, lightly

light

adj

Etymology

23 senses

1Having little or relatively little actual weight; not…
2Having little weight as compared with bulk; of little…
3Of short or insufficient weight; weighing less than the…
4Free from burden or impediment; unencumbered.
5Lightly built; typically designed for speed or small loads.
6Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons.
7Riding high because of no cargo; by extension…
8Without any piece of equipment attached or attached only…
9With low viscosity.
10Not heavy or soggy; spongy; well raised.
11Low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt, etc.
12Slight, not forceful or intense; small in amount or intensity.
13Gentle; having little force or momentum.
14Easy to endure or perform.
15Unimportant, trivial, having little value or significance.
16Unchaste, wanton.
17Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments…
18Fast; nimble.
19Easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady…
20Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; lacking dignity or…
21Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or…
22Easily interrupted by stimulation.
23Cheerful.

Having little or relatively little actual weight; not heavy; not cumbrous or unwieldy.

a light load ; a lighter backpack after having removed the books ; light weapons
These weights did not exert their natural gravity […] insomuch that I could not guess which was light or heavy whilst I held them in my hand.1712 August 31 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, August 21, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 463; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

Having little weight as compared with bulk; of little density or specific gravity.

feathers and cork are light ; oil is lighter than water

Of short or insufficient weight; weighing less than the legal, standard, or proper amount; clipped or diminished.

to issue light coin

› Lacking that which burdens or makes heavy.

Free from burden or impediment; unencumbered.

Lightly built; typically designed for speed or small loads.

a light aircraft ; a light tank

Government, Military, Politics, War Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons.

light infantry; a troop of light horse

Nautical, Transport Of a ship Riding high because of no cargo; by extension, pertaining to a ship which is light.

if a ship is light or partially loaded ; the light draft of a vessel, or its light displacement

Rail transport, Railways, Transport Without any piece of equipment attached or attached only to a caboose.

Of a locomotive or consist of locomotives

the light locomotives ; a locomotive may be moved light
On that August Thursday afternoon, there was little freight traffic; a large "K3" Mogul went down with a short, fast goods, and a W.D. 2-8-0 proceeded northward light.1951 January, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Essex and Hertfordshire”, in Railway Magazine, page 44:

With low viscosity.

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle Not heavy or soggy; spongy; well raised.

a light bread ; sponge cake is a light cake

Low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt, etc.

This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it.

Slight, not forceful or intense; small in amount or intensity.

a light drizzle//a light rain was falling//a light snow set in

Gentle; having little force or momentum.

This artist clearly had a light, flowing touch.

Easy to endure or perform.

light duties around the house
Light sufferings give us leisure to complain.1697, Virgil, “Palamon and Arcite”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

Unimportant, trivial, having little value or significance.

I made some light comment, and we moved on.
He had drunk more than was fit for him, and he was singing some light song, when he saw approaching, as he said, the pale horse mentioned in the Revelation, with Death seated as the rider.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

Obsolete Unchaste, wanton.

Long after lay he musing at her mood, / Much grieu'd to thinke that gentle Dame so light, / For whose defence he was to shed his blood.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
So do not you; for you are a light girl.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

1 more example

A light wife doth make a heavy husband.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments; hence, active; nimble; swift.

Unmarried men are best friends, best masters […] but not always best subjects, for they are light to run away.1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Marriage and Single Life”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

Fast; nimble.

Dated Easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile.

a light, vain person; a light mind
There is no greater argument of a light and inconsiderate person than profanely to scoff at religion.1633, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious:

Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; lacking dignity or solemnity; frivolous; airy.

Ogden Nash was a writer of light verse.
Seneca can not be too heavy, nor Plautus too light.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

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specimens of New England humour laboriously light and lamentably mirthful1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Old News:

Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or deranged; dizzy; giddy.

Are his wits safe? Is he not light of brain?c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

Easily interrupted by stimulation.

light sleep; light anesthesia

Cheerful.

I wish you a good day, and you'll find a way To make your spirits light & gay1980, “ア・グッド・デイ [A Good Day]”, Yoko Narahashi (lyrics), Yukihide Takekawa (music), performed by Godiego:

Synonyms: unheavy, lightweight, lite, lo-cal, low-alcohol, soft, gentle, delicate, rapid, nimble, inconsequential, trivial, unimportant
Antonyms: heavy, weighty, burdensome, cumbersome, heavyweight, massive, calorific, fatty, strong, forceful, crucial, important
Derived terms: 88 terms
alighten, alt-light, feather-light, finger-light, lady of light virtue, large light cruiser, light academia, light air, light as a feather, light blue, light bob, light breeze, light carrier, light cavalry, light corn syrup, light cream, light cruiser, light-duty, light engine, light entertainment, light-finger, light-fingered, light-fingeredness, lightfoot, Lightfoot, light-footed, lightful, lightfulness, light green cell hormon, light-handed, light-headed, light-headedly, lightheadedness, lighthearted, light-heeled, light horse, light-horseman, light hydrogen, light icebreaker, light industry, light infantry, light in the loafers, light in the sneakers, light-legged, light line, lightliness, lightly, light machine gun, light meat, light-minded, light-mindedly, light-mindedness, light-mouthed, lightness, light novel, light oil, light on one's feet, light opera, lightplane, light rail, light railway, light roller, lightskirt, lightskirts, lightsome, lightsomely, lightsomeness, light soup, light-spirited, light stepper, light vehicle, light verb, light water, light waterline, lightweight, light-winged, light-witted, make light work of, many hands make light work, Metropolis light transport, nonlight, over light, overlight, trip the light fantastic, ultralight, very light, very-light, verylight

light

verb

Etymology

Nautical, Transport To unload a ship, or to jettison material to make it lighter.

To lighten; to ease of a burden; to take off.

His mailèd habergeon she did undight, / And from his head his heavy burgonet did light.1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

Broadly To leave; to depart.

Derived terms: light along, light down, lighter, light up

Light

noun

Etymology From light (“noun”).

Honorific Honorific alternative letter-case form of light, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.

light

noun

Etymology

Ball games, Curling, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A stone that is not thrown hard enough.

See lights (“lungs”).

Australia A low-alcohol lager.

We crossed to the pub on the corner of Carlisle Street and I ordered two schooners of old for him and one of light for me.2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 117:

Government, Military, Politics, War Historical A member of the light cavalry.

light

verb

Etymology From Middle English lighten, from Old English līhtan (“to relieve”), from Proto-West Germanic *lį̄htijan, from Proto-Germanic *linhtijaną, from *linhtaz (“light”).

To find by chance.

I lit upon a rare book in a second-hand bookseller's.

To stop upon (of eyes or a glance); to notice.

"Sacredam!" he cried, when his eyes lit upon Buck. "Dat one dam bully dog! Eh? How moch?"1903 July, Jack London, “Into the Primitive”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 34:

Archaic To alight; to land or come down.

She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet.
[W]e knew not what Courſe to take, but the Creatures [wolves] reſolv'd us ſoon, for they gather'd about us preſently, in Hopes of Prey, […] I drew my little Troop in among thoſe Trees, and placing our ſelves in a Line, behind one long Tree, I advis'd them all to light, and keeping that Tree before us, for a Breaſt-Work, to ſtand in a Triangle, or three Fronts, encloſing our Horſes in the Center.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, pages 356–357:

4 more examples

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.1769, Benjamin Blayney (Ed.), King James Bible (Genesis 24:64)
Some kinds of ducks in lighting strike the water with their tails first, and skitter along the surface for a few feet before settling down.1885, Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman:
1957, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), The Cat in the Hat And our fish came down, too. He fell into a pot! He said, "Do I like this? Oh, no! I do not. This is not a good game," Said our fish as he lit.
One cannot help but notice a teasingly elusive air about her, as if she were a butterfly that refused to light and fluttered just out of reach of its would-be captor.1977 December 31, Lisa Nussbaum, “Jacqui Mac: Bringing Her Dreams Together”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 26, page 10:

Synonyms: chance upon, come upon, find, happen upon, hit upon, alight, land
Derived terms: light into, light out

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for light and Light.

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