lambent

[lam-buh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lambent ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

running or moving lightly over a surface: lambent tongues of flame.

dealing lightly and gracefully with a subject; brilliantly playful: lambent wit.

softly bright or radiant: a lambent light.

Nearby words

Origin of lambent

1640–50; < Latin lambent- (stem of lambēns) lapping, present participle of lambere to lick, wash (said of water or fire); akin to lap³; see -ent

Related formslam·bent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lambent

A lambent spotlight shines on each individual in his portraits, reminding the world of their forgotten existence.
Ghosts of the Sahara|Lizzie Crocker|April 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Their eyes are luminous and lambent, but it is a melancholy light.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXIV, May 1852, Vol. IV|Various
At first I thought it was dead, but when I looked closer I saw a lambent fire in its amber eyes.
Famous Modern Ghost Stories|Various
But Ooma turned away from the man, and looked through the window, with the lambent glare of a wild animal in his eyes.
The Stowmarket Mystery|Louis Tracy

As a monstrous mirror to augment the radiance and multiply the lambent gleams, the speckless crust stretched on and on.
The Law of the North (Originally published as Empery)|Samuel Alexander White
From about her neck and breast there shone what is known as a lambent flame which at times became tempestuous.
The Cassowary|Stanley Waterloo

British Dictionary definitions for lambent

lambent

adjective

(esp of a flame) flickering softly over a surface

glowing with soft radiance

(of wit or humour) light or brilliant

Derived Formslambency, nounlambently, adverb

Word Origin for lambent

C17: from the present participle of Latin lambere to lick

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 lambent

lambent

adj.

1640s, from figurative use of Latin lambentem (nominative lambens), present participle of lambere "to lick," from PIE root *lab-, indicative of smacking lips or licking (cf. Greek laptein "to sip, lick," Old English lapian "to lick, lap up, suck;" see lap (v.1)).

lambent

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of lambent

Examples from the Web for lambent

lambent

adjective

Word Origin for lambent

lambent