limn
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Middle English luminem, limnen (“to illuminate (a manuscript)”), from Middle French enluminer, from Latin illūminō (“I illuminate”) (English illuminate), in + lūminō (“light up”), from lūmen (“light”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (English leam (“glow”)).
Pronunciation [edit]
Verb [edit]
limn (third-person singular simple present limns, present participle limning, simple past and past participle limned)
- (transitive) To draw or paint; delineate.
- (transitive) To describe.
- (transitive, obsolete) To illuminate, as a manuscript.
Usage notes [edit]
- Particularly used in arts journalism; not understood by significant portion of American public.[1]
Quotations [edit]
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Derived terms [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ The Sun goes out on a limn with unusual headline: Unusual word in front-page headline leaves some readers scratching their heads, Jill Rosen, The Baltimore Sun, September 7, 2010
