arc light
- Also arc lamp. a lamp in which the light source is a high-intensity electric arc either between carbon rods in air or between metal electrodes in a xenon gas atmosphere enclosed in a quartz bulb.
- the light produced by such a lamp.
Show More
Compare carbon arc, xenon arc.
Origin of arc light
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for arc light
Historical Examples
Anyway, look the man over when he passes under the arc-light.
Nan of Music MountainFrank H. Spearman
It is visible at some hour every clear night, and has been called the arc-light of the sky.
A Field Book of the StarsWilliam Tyler Olcott
His face was well lighted by the arc-light under the arch of the door.
The LandloperHolman Day
Even the arc-light that Foucault produced in 1844 was not utilized then.
InventionBradley A. Fiske
Under the blue white of the arc-light, her face was that of a dead woman.
The Shooting of Dan McGrew, A NovelMarvin Dana
arc light
- a light source in which an arc between two electrodes, usually carbon, produces intense white illuminationAlso called: arc lamp
Show More
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