Jump To:

• Lucifer
  Lucifer

  noun

  a proud, rebellious archangel, identified with Satan, who fell from heaven.
• lucifer
  lucifer

  noun

  a friction match: originally a trade name for a match manufactured in England in the 19th century

Lucifer

American  

[loo-suh-fer] / ˈlu sə fər /

noun

1. a proud, rebellious archangel, identified with Satan, who fell from heaven.

2. the planet Venus when appearing as the morning star.

3. (lowercase) friction match.

---

Lucifer ¹ British  

/ ˈluːsɪfə /

noun

1. the leader of the rebellion of the angels: usually identified with Satan

2. the planet Venus when it rises as the morning star

---

lucifer ² British  

/ ˈluːsɪfə /

noun

1. a friction match: originally a trade name for a match manufactured in England in the 19th century

---

Lucifer ¹ Cultural  

1. Another name for Satan.

---

Lucifer ² Cultural  

1. A name, traditional in Christianity, for the leader of the devils, an angel who was cast from heaven into hell because he rebelled against God. Lucifer is usually identified with Satan. The name Lucifer, which means “bearer of light” or “morning star,” refers to his former splendor as the greatest of the angels.

---

Etymology

Origin of Lucifer

before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin: morning star, literally, light-bringing, equivalent to lūci- (stem of lūx ) light + -fer -fer

---

Compare meaning

How does lucifer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Lucifer vs. Satan

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Lucifer lucifer

No wonder Dante, the Florence-born author of the “Divine Comedy,” consigned counterfeiters to the eighth circle of hell, “just one rung higher than Lucifer in the ninth.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

The Indian Express said "the emotional depth and dramatic weight that anchored Lucifer are largely absent in Empuraan" but praised "Mohanlal's commanding performance" and some other aspects of the film.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025

He had the word Lucifer tattooed on his chest.

From New York Times ● May 24, 2023

Added bonus: the statuesque Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2022

The bitter cold outside had also chased our old tom Lucifer in, and he was curled up in Dad’s easy chair.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

When that wind blew, the simplest of devices—from lucifer matches to lantern-slides—would no longer function.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

The so-called "lucifer" matches, I may remark, did not come into use until some years later.

From Highway Pirates or, The Secret Place at Coverthorne by Harold Avery

The former may be obtained by burning a little sulphur or a sulphured lucifer match under the perforations of a killing box of the pattern described, and the latter—well, every smoker knows that.

From Butterflies and Moths (British) by William S. Furneaux

Jaun now removed his empty pipe from his mouth and replaced it by a lucifer match, which, either as an aid to reflection or possibly for medicinal purposes, he chewed as he contemplated the ridge.

From Above the Snow Line by Clinton Thomas Dent

The recusants, in anticipation of some such step, had provided themselves with lucifer matches, and, by their aid, re-lit the lamps, and continued the meeting.

From The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852 by Various

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• Satan

---