lightening
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English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Verb[edit]
lightening
- present participle and gerund of lighten
Noun[edit]
lightening (plural lightenings)
- The act or result of making something light or lighter.
- 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 134:
- Bradly did not think of Cora till he picked up her figure ahead of him on the downs, but with that he was aware of a sudden lightening of his spirits, and stepped out faster to overtake her.
- (medicine) The sensation caused by the descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity before the onset of labour
- (nautical) The removal of cargo (especially crude oil) from a vessel in order to reduce its draft
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
lightening
- (obsolete or proscribed) Alternative form of lightning
Usage notes[edit]
Regarded as a misspelling by all modern authorities.