luminosity

[loo-muh-nos-i-tee]

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noun, plural lu·mi·nos·i·ties.

the quality of being intellectually brilliant, enlightened, inspired, etc.: The luminosity of his poetry is unequaled.

Astronomy. the brightness of a star in comparison with that of the sun: the luminosity of Sirius expressed as 23 indicates an intrinsic brightness 23 times as great as that of the sun.

Also called luminosity factor. Optics. the brightness of a light source of a certain wavelength as it appears to the eye, measured as the ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux at that wavelength.

Origin of luminosity

1625–35; < Latin lūminōs(us) luminous + -ity

Related formsnon·lu·mi·nos·i·ty, nounself-lu·mi·nos·i·ty, noun

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

Related Words for luminosity

light, glow, brightness, luminance, fluorescence

Examples from the Web for luminosity

Contemporary Examples of luminosity

Nikos Kazantzakis had no problems writing a moving novel of beauty, profundity, and luminosity.
Examining the Many Novels on Jesus Christ
David Masciotra
December 24, 2012

Historical Examples of luminosity

It is the radiations of light which they throw off; it is their luminosity—their transparency.
Sex=The Unknown Quantity
Ali Nomad
There was luminosity where the ships had encountered each other.
The Aliens
Murray Leinster
Value or luminosity of colors ranges between these two extremes.
A Color Notation
Albert H. Munsell
But this luminosity is not entirely confined to the minute creatures of the sea.
The Ocean and its Wonders
R.M. Ballantyne
He nodded toward the circular area of luminosity on the sea.
Creatures of the Abyss
Murray Leinster

British Dictionary definitions for luminosity

luminosity

noun plural -ties

the condition of being luminous

something that is luminous

astronomy a measure of the radiant power emitted by a star

physics the attribute of an object or colour enabling the extent to which an object emits light to be observedFormer name: brightness See also colour

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 luminosity

1630s, "quality of being luminous," from French luminosité or else a native formation from luminous + -ity. In astronomy, "intrinsic brightness of a heavenly body" (as distinguished from apparent magnitude, which diminishes with distance), attested from 1906.