alight
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: ə-līt'
ipa: /əˈlaɪt/
rhymes: -aɪt
Forms: form: alights
form: alighting
form: alit
form: alit
form: alighted
form: alighted
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: alight
form: alight
form: alighted
form: alight
form: alightest
form: alighted
form: alightedst
form: alights
form: alighteth
form: alighted
form: alight
form: alighted
form: alight
form: alighted
form: alight
form: -
form: alighting
form: alighted
Etymology: The verb is probably derived partly:
* from Middle English alighten (“to kindle, light, set on fire; to begin burning; to become bright, shine; to arouse, rouse, stir; (figuratively) to enlighten spiritually, illuminate”) [and other forms], from Old English ālīhtan, ālȳhtan (“to light up; enlighten”) (perhaps modelled after Latin illūmināre, the present active infinitive of illūminō (“to brighten, illuminate, light up”)), from ā- (prefix meaning ‘away, from, off, out’) + līhtan, līehtan (“to glow, to shine; to illuminate, to light”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“to see; to shine; bright”)); and
* from Middle English onlighten (“to cause (something) to shine; to clarify; (figuratively) to enlighten spiritually”) [and other forms], from Old English onlīhtan, a variant of inlīhtan (“to give light to, brighten, illuminate; to cause to shine; to shine; (figuratively) to give clear sight; to clear a mental fog, enlighten”), from Proto-Germanic *inliuhtijaną (“to enlighten, illumine”), from *in (“in; into”) + *liuhtijaną (“to give light, shine”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk-; see above); and
* from later uses of alight (adjective).
The English word is analysable as a- (prefix meaning ‘away, from, off, out’) + light (“to start (a fire); to burn, set fire to; to become ignited, take fire; to provide light, illuminate; to show the way by means of a light”).
The adjective and adverb are derived from Late Middle English alight (adjective) [and other forms], from Old English ālīht, ālȳht, a past participle form of Old English ālīhtan, ālȳhtan (verb) (see above); but have also been subsequently interpreted as a- (prefix meaning ‘at; in; on’, used to show a condition, manner, or state) + light (“not dark or obscure, bright, clear; highly luminous”).
Cognates
* German erleuchten (“to light up, illuminate”)
Senses: synonyms: word: alight
word: belight
word: beshine
word: bright
word: enlighten
word: fire
word: illume
word: illuminate
word: illumine
word: illustrate
word: irradiate
word: light
word: lighten
word: light up
word: luster
word: lustrate
word: shed light on
antonyms: darken
glosses: To cast light on (something); to illuminate, to light up.
examples: text: The officer hauing by this time alighted his lampe, entred into the roome to ſee him, vvhom he accounted to be dead, […]
ref: 1612, [Miguel de Cervantes], “VVherein are Rehearsed the Innumerable Misfortunes vvhich Don-Quixote and His Good Squire Sancho Suffered in the Inne, vvhich He to His Harme Thought to be a Castle”, in Thomas Shelton, transl., The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha. […], London: […] William Stansby, for Ed[ward] Blount and W. Barret, →OCLC, part 3, page 133:
glosses: To set light to (something); to set (something) on fire; to ignite, to light.
Derived terms: word: alighting