light
Old EnglishVariants
Related Roots
About This Root
From Old English lēoht (bright) and līht (not heavy), two originally distinct words that merged. The brightness sense produces lighthouse, daylight, sunlight, moonlight, spotlight, flashlight. The 'not heavy' sense gives lightly, lighten, lighthearted. This dual meaning is a distinctive feature of the English word.
Associated Words
alight
To descend from a vehicle; on fire or lit up
blight
A plant disease causing withering; to ruin or destroy
candlelight
The soft light from a candle
daylight
The natural light of day from the sun
delight
Great pleasure or joy; to please greatly
delighted
Feeling great pleasure or happiness
delightedly
In a manner showing great pleasure
delightful
Causing great pleasure or enjoyment; charming
delightfully
In a way that causes great pleasure
enlighten
To give greater knowledge or understanding
enlightened
Well-informed and free from ignorance; spiritually awakened
enlightening
Providing useful insight or knowledge
enlightenment
The state of understanding; the 18th-century movement of reason; spiritual clarity
feather-light
Extremely light in weight
firelight
The light produced by a fire
flashlight
A small portable battery-powered hand-held light
gaslight
A gas-burning lamp; to psychologically manipulate someone into doubting their own reality
green-light
To give official approval for something to proceed
highlight
To emphasize or mark important content; the most exciting part of an event
highlighted
Marked or emphasized to stand out
highlighter
A fluorescent marker pen; a cosmetic for accentuating facial features
highlighting
The act of visually emphasizing text or features
light
visible radiation; a source of illumination; not heavy
light-absorbing
Capable of absorbing light
light-blue
Of a pale shade of blue
light-brown
Of a pale shade of brown
light-colored
Having a faint or pale color
light-footed
Moving quickly and gracefully; nimble
light-green
Of a pale shade of green
light-hearted
Cheerful and carefree
light-polluted
Having excessive artificial light that obscures the night sky
light-rail
An urban electric railway system lighter than a subway
light-reflecting
Capable of reflecting light off a surface
light-sensitive
Reacting to or changed by light
light-skinned
Having light-colored or fair skin
light-speed
The speed at which light travels in a vacuum
light-year
A unit of distance equal to how far light travels in one year
lighted
Filled with or provided with light; illuminated
lighten
To make brighter, lighter, or more cheerful
lighter
A handheld fire-making device; a flat-bottomed cargo boat
lightheartedly
In a cheerful, carefree manner
lightheartedness
The quality of being cheerful and carefree
lighthouse
A tower with a light to guide or warn sailors
lighting
Equipment or arrangement used to provide light
lightless
Having no light; completely dark
lightly
Gently, with little force or seriousness
lightness
The quality of being light in weight or pale in color
lights
Sources of illumination; animal lungs used as food
lightweight
Below average in weight; a boxer in the lightweight class; lacking seriousness
moonlight
The light from the moon; lit by moonlight
plight
A difficult or unfortunate situation; to pledge solemnly
red-light
Relating to areas associated with prostitution
searchlight
A powerful lamp projecting a directed beam of light
slightly
To a small extent or degree
spotlight
A focused stage light; the center of attention; to highlight; 聚光灯;关注焦点;使突出
starlight
The light from stars; lit by stars; 星光;星光照耀的
streetlight
A lamp that illuminates a public street
sunlight
The light and warmth from the sun
sunlit
Illuminated by sunlight
taillight
A red light on the rear of a vehicle
torchlight
Light from a torch or flashlight
twilight
The dim light after sunset or before sunrise; the period of fading light
ultralight
Extremely light in weight; a very lightweight aircraft
unenlightened
Lacking knowledge or awareness; ignorant
unlighted
Not lit or illuminated
visible-light
Light that is detectable by the human eye
well-lighted
Having adequate or good lighting