light bulb

English

Wikipedia

A light bulb.

Alternative forms

• light-bulb, lightbulb

Etymology

light + bulb, from Middle French bulbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbos, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”).

Noun

light bulb (plural light bulbs)

1. An evacuated glass bulb containing a metal filament which is heated by electrical resistance to produce light.
2. (by extension) An article that resembles such a bulb and converts electricity to light by any process.

   an incandescent light bulb

   a fluorescent light bulb

   an LED light bulb

3. (figuratively) Used in reference to the sudden arrival of a realization, an inspiration, an idea, or the like.
   • 1949, in Forbes (magazine), volume 64,^[1] page 18:

     Figuratively speaking, a light-bulb flashed over Galvin's head early this year, and in March–along […]

   • 2010, Sandy Abrams, Your Idea, Inc., Abrams Media, ISBN 978-1-59869-909-8, page xi:

     A light bulb went off in my head as I had an incredible idea for a beauty product.

Synonyms

• (bulb containing a filament): bulb, glow-lamp, light globe (Australia)

Derived terms

• light bulb joke

Translations

evacuated glass bulb containing a metal filament that produces light

• Arabic: لمبة (ar) (lámba) f
• Armenian: էլեկտրական լամպ (hy) (ēlektrakan lamp), (colloquial) լամպուշկա (hy) (lampuška)
• Bulgarian: крушка (bg) (krúška) f, електрическа крушка (bg) (elektríčeska krúška) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 電燈泡 (cmn), 电灯泡 (cmn) (diàndēngpào), 燈泡 (cmn), 灯泡 (cmn) (dēngpào)

• Czech: žárovka (cs) f
• Danish: pære (da)
• Dutch: gloeilamp f, lichtpeertje n ballon, peer (nl) c
• Estonian: elektripirn, pirn, lamp
• Finnish: hehkulamppu (fi), lamppu (fi)
• French: ampoule (fr) f, lampe (fr) f, ampoule électrique (fr) f
• German: Glühbirne (de) f, Glühlampe (de) f
• Greek: ηλεκτρικός λαμπτήρας (el) (ilektrikós lamptíras) m, ηλεκτρική λυχνία (el) (ilektrikí lychnía) f
• Hebrew: נורה (he) (nurá) f
• Hungarian: égő (hu), villanykörte (hu), izzó (hu)
• Icelandic: ljósapera (is) f
• Irish: bolgán (ga) m
• Italian: lampadina (it) f
• Japanese: 電球 (ja) (でんきゅう, denkyū)

• Jèrriais: lampion m, lampion êlectrique m
• Korean: 전구 (ko) (jeongu) (電球 (ko))
• Latvian: kvēlspuldze f, spuldze f
• Macedonian: светилка (mk) (svétilka) f
• Malay: mentol lampu (ms)
• Norwegian: lyspære (no) m and f
• Polish: żarówka (pl) f
• Portuguese: lâmpada (pt) f
• Romanian: bec (ro) n, bulb de lampă (ro)
• Russian: лампа накаливания (ru) (lámpa nakálivanija) f, лампочка (ru) (lámpočka) f (colloquial)
• Scottish Gaelic: bolgan (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сијалица (sh) f, жаруља (sh) f, жарница (sh) f

  Roman: sijalica (sh) f, žarulja (sh) f, žarnica (sh) f

• Slovak: žiarovka (sk) f
• Slovene: žarnica (sl) f
• Spanish: ampolleta f (Chile), bombilla f (Spain), bombillo m (Caribbean Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela), bujía f (Nicaragua), foco m (Bolivia, Colombian Atlantic Coast, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru), lamparita f (Argentina, Uruguay)
• Swahili: balbu (sw)
• Swedish: glödlampa (sv) c
• Vietnamese: bóng đèn (vi)