lambent
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin lambens, present participle of lambō (“lick”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈlæmbənt/
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Audio (US) (file)
Adjective[edit]
lambent (comparative more lambent, superlative most lambent)
- Brushing or flickering gently over a surface.
- 1800, William Cowper, The Task, Book VI: "The Winter Walk at Noon", Poems, J. Johnson, page 232,
- No foe to man / Lurks in the ſerpent now: the mother ſees, / And ſmiles to ſee, her infant's playful hand / Stretch'd forth to dally with the creſted worm, / To ſtroke his azure neck, or to receive / The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue.
- 1977, Stephen R. Donaldson, Lord Foul’s Bane, page 77
- “As they walked together between the houses, Lena’s smooth arm brushed his. His skin felt lambent at the touch.”
- 1800, William Cowper, The Task, Book VI: "The Winter Walk at Noon", Poems, J. Johnson, page 232,
- Glowing or luminous, but lacking heat.
- The lambent glow of fireflies delighted the children.
- 1839, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jonathan Birch (translator), Faust: A Tragedy, Black and Armstrong, page 127,
- The Witch, with much ceremony, fills the basin. As FAUST is about to raise it to his lips, it emits a clear flame.
MEPHISTOPHELES. Quick! quickly down with it!—no breathing time allowed! […] And does a lambent flame prevent thee quaff?
- The Witch, with much ceremony, fills the basin. As FAUST is about to raise it to his lips, it emits a clear flame.
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1984, Edward Abbey, Beyond the Wall: Essays from the Outside, page 192:
- the lambent glowing light of the midnight sun. (I dislike that word lambent, but it must be employed.) A soft, benevolent radiance, you might say, playing upon the emerald green, the virgin swales of grass and moss and heather and Swede heads
- Exhibiting lightness or brilliance of wit; clever or witty without unkindness.
- We appreciated her lambent comments.
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
lambent
