alight

[uh-lahyt]

verb (used without object), a·light·ed or a·lit, a·light·ing.

to dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.
to settle or stay after descending: The bird alighted on the tree.
to encounter or notice something accidentally.

Origin of alight

before 1000; Middle English alighten, Old English ālīhtan, equivalent to ā- a-³ + līhtan to relieve (originally an animal mount) of weight, light²)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for alighting

disembark, descend, perch, light, settle, dismount, debark

Examples from the Web for alighting

Contemporary Examples of alighting

Kalman has a way of alighting on a moment in history, and animating it with personal details, both true and imagined.
Maira Kalman at the Jewish Museum: Interview
Casey Schwartz
May 19, 2011

Historical Examples of alighting

At our alighting I gave him another dab; but it was but a little one.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
The dear creature was no less shy when the widow first accosted her at her alighting.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Through a glass, perhaps, even its alighting had been watched.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
Various
Again it circled, anxiously, now, as if the time for alighting were short.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930
Various
Alighting from the carriage, I entered, with my host, the cabin of the negro-hunter.
Among the Pines
James R. Gilmore

British Dictionary definitions for alighting

alight

verb alights, alighting, alighted or alit (intr)

(usually foll by from) to step out (of) or get down (from)to alight from a taxi
to come to rest; settle; landa thrush alighted on the wall

Word Origin for alight

Old English ālīhtan, from a- ² + līhtan to make less heavy, from līht light ²

alight

adjective, adverb (postpositive)

burning; on fire
illuminated; lit up

Word Origin for alight

Old English ālīht lit up, from ālīhtan to light up; see light 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for alighting

alight

"to descend, dismount," Old English alihtan, originally "to lighten, take off, take away," from a- "down, aside" (see a- (1)) + lihtan "get off, make light" (see light (v.)). The notion is of getting down off a horse or vehicle, thus lightening it. Of aircraft (originally balloons) from 1786. Related: Alighted; alighting.

alight

adj.

"on fire," early 15c., apparently from Middle English aliht, past participle of alihton (Old English on-lihtan) "to light up," also "to shine upon" (see light (n.)).