luminosity
[ loo-muh-nos-i-tee ]
/ ˌlu məˈnɒs ɪ ti /
noun, plural lu·mi·nos·i·ties.
the quality of being intellectually brilliant, enlightened, inspired, etc.: The luminosity of his poetry is unequaled.
something luminous.
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.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- luminescence,
- luminescent,
- luminiferous,
- luminism,
- luminophore,
- luminosity class,
- luminous,
- luminous efficacy,
- luminous efficiency,
- luminous emittance
Origin of luminosity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for luminosity
luminosity
/ (ˌluːmɪˈnɒsɪtɪ) /
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
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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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper