coruscation

American  

[kawr-uh-skey-shuhn, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈskeɪ ʃən, ˌkɒr- /

noun

1. the act of coruscating.

2. a sudden gleam or flash of light.

3. a striking display of brilliance or wit.

---

coruscation British  

/ ˌkɒrəˈskeɪʃən /

noun

1. a gleam or flash of light

2. a sudden or striking display of brilliance, wit, etc

---

Etymology

Origin of coruscation

First recorded in 1480–90, coruscation is from the Late Latin word coruscātiōn- (stem of coruscātiō ). See coruscate, -ion

Example Sentences

Nor is there now any blinding coruscation of genius.

From Time Magazine Archive

A second flash lighted the cleft with its dazzling coruscation.

From Into the Primitive by Bennett, Robert Ames

Should it "be compared to the coruscation of the electric fluid in the aurora borealis? or to the more magnificent cone of the zodiacal light?"

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)

Gleams of lightning at intervals flashed over the sward; or, in fitful coruscation, illumined the deep arcades of the forest—the beeches, for a moment, appearing burnished by the blaze.

From The White Gauntlet by Reid, Mayne

A faint coruscation of sparks ran along the network, but the craft kept steadily onward.

From Astounding Stories, May, 1931 by Various