illumination

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French illumination, from Late Latin illuminatio, from Latin illumino.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪˌlumɪˈneɪʃən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˌl(j)umɪˈneɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: il‧lu‧mi‧na‧tion

Noun

illumination (countable and uncountable, plural illuminations)

1. The act of illuminating, or supplying with light; the state of being illuminated.
2. Festive decoration of houses or buildings with lights.
3. Adornment of books and manuscripts with colored illustrations. See illuminate (transitive verb).
4. (figurative) Splendour; brightness.
5. (figurative) Enlightening influence; inspiration.

Synonyms

• lumination (rare)

Derived terms

• bioillumination
• counterillumination
• endoillumination
• global illumination
• illuminationism
• illuminationist
• illumination problem
• nonillumination
• oblique illumination
• overillumination
• over-illumination
• photoillumination
• postillumination
• preillumination
• reillumination
• retroillumination
• structured illumination
• structured illumination microscopy
• transillumination
• underillumination
• unillumination

 

Related terms

• illuminator

Translations

the act of illuminating, or supplying with light; the state of being illuminated

• Bulgarian: осветяване (bg) n (osvetjavane)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏨᏍᏙᏗ (atsvsdodi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 照明 (zh) (zhàomíng)

• Dutch: verlichting (nl) f
• Esperanto: iluminado
• Finnish: valaistus (fi), valaiseminen (fi)
• French: illumination (fr) f
• Galician: iluminación (gl) f
• German: Beleuchtung (de) f
• Hebrew: תאורה f (teurá)
• Irish: soilsiú m
• Italian: illuminazione (it) f
• Japanese: 照明 (ja) (しょうめい, shōmei)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ڕۆشنایی (roşnayî)

• Maori: tūramatanga
• Persian: روشن کردن (fa) (rowšan kardan)
• Portuguese: iluminação (pt) f
• Romanian: iluminație (ro) f, iluminare (ro) f
• Russian: освеще́ние (ru) n (osveščénije), иллюмина́ция (ru) f (illjuminácija)
• Scottish Gaelic: soilleireachadh m
• Serbo-Croatian: prosvetljenje n
• Spanish: iluminación (es) f
• Tocharian B: lyūke, lalaukar
• Ukrainian: освітлення n (osvitlennja), ілюмінація f (iljuminacija)
• Vietnamese: bôi lên f

festive decoration of houses or buildings with lights

• Armenian: հրավառություն (hy) (hravaṙutʿyun)
• Bulgarian: светлинна украса f (svetlinna ukrasa)
• Finnish: juhlavalaistus
• Hungarian: kivilágítás (hu)
• Irish: soilsiú m
• Japanese: イルミネーション (iruminēshon), ライトアップ (raito appu)
• Russian: иллюмина́ция (ru) f (illjuminácija)
• Spanish: iluminación (es) f

adornment of books and manuscripts with colored illustrations

• Bulgarian: илюстрации (bg) f pl (iljustracii)
• French: enluminure (fr)
• Persian: تذهیب (fa) (tazhib), زرنگاری (zarnegâri)
• Spanish: ilustración (es) f

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin illuminātiōnem, from Latin illuminō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.ly.mi.na.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

illumination f (plural illuminations)

1. enlightenment (philosophy and psychology related to achieving clarity of perception, reason and knowledge)
2. illumination, lighting

Related terms

• illuminer

Further reading

• “illumination”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.