illuminateadj.n.
/ɪˈl(j)uːmɪnət/ A. adj. Frequently as past participle.
1. Lighted up; made bright by light. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > [adjective] > illuminated or lit up
lightc1300
lightedc1450
illuminate?a1475
circumfulseda1513
illustrate1526
in light1534
lighted1596
illightened1609
enlightened1640
unblown1647
luminated1652
illuminated1664
lit1783
alight1817
lit-up1835
littena1849
light-struck1923
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 307 Callede Delon..in that hit was illuminate of the son a fore other londes.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 265 Shorter nyghtes..illuminate of the moone.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1218 He could see the earth no more, but the Isles all bright and illuminate with a mild and delicate fire.
1754 J. Short in Philos. Trans. 1753 (Royal Soc.) 48 362 The illuminate limb of the Moon.
1845 H. W. Longfellow To a Child 106 This rustic seat..With its o'er~hanging golden canopy Of leaves illuminate with autumnal hues.
2. Enlightened spiritually; divinely taught or inspired; in technical use, converted, baptized. Sometimes contemptuous = professing to have the inner light.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > inspiration or revelation > [adjective]
inspiredc1450
illumined1526
godly-wise1532
revealed1533
illuminate1563
enthusiast1578
lightsome1587
enthusiastical1588
entheate1603
enthusiac1603
enthusiastic1603
illuminated1606
illightened1609
enthean1612
theopneust1647
illuminative1649
entheous1682
revelational1693
entheal1736
entheastic1804
theopneustic1838
theophanic1884
inspirational1888
theophanous1909
Beatrician1943
1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 90 The haly penitent man Serapion, quha..wes illuminat be the spirit of prophetie.
1579 J. Field tr. J. Calvin Serm. Ded. sig. B jv Ioyning and conixing so neere with Anabaptists, the spirituall illuminate, Pelagians, and other merite mongers.
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. E2v You may be counted illuminate botchers for a while, but your end wil be Good people pray for me.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 489 The illuminate Elders of the Familists.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. i. v. 72 Cloysters..of repenting or illuminate women, so they call whores entring Cloysters.
1673 W. Cave Primitive Christianity i. viii. 211 Speaking to the illuminate or Baptized.
a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 258 The most illuminate Seraphins.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 19 May 4/2 I once knew a follower of the Rosy Cross, an illuminate member.
3. Enlightened intellectually; well-informed, learned. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > enlightenment > [adjective]
lightOE
lighty?a1425
lightened?1492
enlightened1578
illuminate1579
lightsome1587
illuminated1661
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 121 His obcȩcate [sic] and blind enemies.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. I2 If they be illuminate by learning. View more context for this quotation
1649 J. Ellistone tr. J. Böhme Epist. v. lxxx. 80 As the illuminate minde shall finde.
4. = illuminated adj. 5.
ΚΠ
1851 R. H. Stoddard Hymn to Flora Illuminate missals open on the meads, Bending with rosaries of dewy beads.
B. n.
A spiritually or intellectually enlightened person, or one claiming to be so; one initiated into ‘the mysteries’. archaic. Also spec. plural = illuminati n. b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > intellectual superiority > [noun] > intellectual person
illuminate1602
intellectualist1605
intelligence1648
intellectual1652
aerialist1778
intellect1842
intellectuality1863
cerebralist1890
highbrow1898
longhair1920
egghead1952
boffin1954
boff1984
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > inspiration or revelation > [noun] > person having
seera1382
Alumbrado1600
illuminate1602
enthusiastic1605
enthusian1611
enthusiast1612
inspirado1664
entheastic1678
inspired1749
Maharishi1785
muni1785
rishi1794
Mahatma1882
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > organizations similar to masons
illuminati1797
Good Templary1872
illuminate1906
society > faith > sect > Christianity > other sects and movements > Illuminati (Bavarian) > [noun]
illuminated1686
illuminati1797
illuminate1906
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 100 That bold attempt against such illuminates, and men sitting neare vnder God Almighties knee.
1612 T. James Iesuits Downefall 14 Every Iesuit takes vpon him to be an illuminate, an inculpate guider of soules.
1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 262 This great Philosopher and Illuminate of his Age.
1860 J. R. Lowell in Atlantic Monthly Aug. 248 The illuminate too often looks upon the stems and flowers of language..as mere handles by which to pull up the grimy tubers.
1889 F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) 49 334/3 Not one of these illuminates has given proof of..even a moderate acquaintance with [etc.].
1906 Edinb. Rev. July 49 The influence of the German ‘illuminates’ on the French lodges.
1946 G. G. Scholem Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (rev. ed.) iv. 121 The outspoken illuminates and ecstatics.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
illuminatev.
/ɪˈl(j)uːmɪneɪt/ 1.
a. transitive. To light up, give light to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > illuminate [verb (transitive)]
onlighteOE
enlightOE
alemeOE
alightOE
lightOE
belighta1200
lightena1382
clear1382
alightenc1384
lumine1387
clarify1398
shine1398
shed1412
beamc1430
enlymec1440
illumine1447
enlumine1481
illustre1490
enclear1509
elumine1532
illuminate1535
unshadow1550
illightena1555
allumine1570
eluminate1580
unnight1594
enlighten1595
to strike up1598
illume1604
luminate1623
illustrate1625
unbenight1629
emblaze1637
burn1712
alluminate1726
lamp1808
enkindle1870
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 604 Ane feild of birneist gold so bricht, That all the land illumnat with greit licht.
1545 A. Borde Pronostycacyon Prol., in Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) Forewords 25 Lyke to the son..illumynatynge as well the inferyal planetes as the superyal planetes.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 350 God made two great Lights..And set them in the Firmament of Heav'n To illuminate the Earth. View more context for this quotation
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Apr. (1965) I. 399 The Mosque [is] illuminated with a vast number of Lamps.
1736 J. McUre in Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) App. p. xxxii/2 It is illuminated with 41 windows.
1872 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 139 Most dwellings were illuminated by brands or torches of pinewood.
b. To give light to, or remove blindness from (the eyes), esp. figurative in religious sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > give sight to [verb (transitive)]
enlightenc1384
enlumine1495
illumine1548
illuminatea1576
insight1577
a1576 Lady Abergavenny Praiers in T. Bentley et al. Monument of Matrones (1582) ii. 209 Illuminate mine eies..O good Lord, that I sleepe not in darkenes.
1596 E. Spenser Hymne in Honour of Beautie 20 Doe thou vouchsafe with thy love-kindling light T' illuminate my dim and dulled eyne.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 74 He commands his sonnes eyes..to be forfetted, but the poyson is more mercifull, leaving one eye a little illuminated.
1673 J. Flavell Fountain of Life x. 125 To sin with eyes clearly illuminated with the purest light.
c. To direct a beam of any kind of radiation at (an object or region): used esp. of radio waves and microwaves in connection with radar and telecommunication.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > emit [verb (transitive)] > direct at
illuminate1942
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > communicate by radio [verb (transitive)] > in radar: direct a beam
illuminate1942
1942 [implied in: J. C. Slater Microwave Transmission vi. 275 The illuminated region can be considerably greater than the distance between poles. (at illuminated adj. 1b)].
1947 J. G. Crowther & R. Whiddington Sci. at War i. 6 The power radiated proved ample to detect aircraft, flying at a height..sufficient to bring them within the space ‘illuminated’, at the range of 75 miles.
1948 E. C. Pollard & J. M. Sturtevant Microwaves & Radar Electronics iv. 126 The..antenna pattern from a 30-inch-diameter dish illuminated at 3·2 centimeters..is shown.
1957 R. Watson-Watt Three Steps to Victory 470 Of the secondary radiations, excited by ‘illuminating’ the craft by ground installations emitting light, heat, sound or radio-waves, the first two are excluded by atmospheric absorption.
1973 Physics Bull. Mar. 149/1 A cold cathode discharge source..provided a beam of electrons which could illuminate an object such as an aperture or a wire grid.
2. To shed spiritual light upon; to enlighten spiritually; in quot. 1698, to bring the Gospel to.In modern use consciously figurative from 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > inspiration or revelation > inspire [verb (transitive)]
inblowc975
inspirea1340
illuminec1340
enlightenc1384
reveal?a1425
aspire1532
illuminatea1538
clarify1631
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 95 That hyt may plese hym..to yllumynate & lyght our hartys & myndys.
1544 Letanie in Exhort. vnto Prayer sig. Bviv That it may please the to illuminate all bishoppes pastours and minysters..with true knowlege and vnderstandyng of thy word.
1611 Bible (King James) Heb. x. 32 The former dayes, in which after yee were illuminated, ye indured a great fight of afflictions. View more context for this quotation
a1656 J. Hales Tracts (1677) i. 13 Anciently, to be illuminated, signified to be Baptized.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 271 St. Basil illuminated the lower Armenia.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 171 That he..would further illuminate them with a Beam of his heavenly Grace.
1875 H. E. Manning Internal Mission of Holy Ghost iv. 99 Faith therefore illuminates us to know that God is the end for which we were made.
3. To enlighten intellectually; to give knowledge or understanding to.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > enlightenment > enlighten [verb (transitive)]
to open a person's eyeslOE
clear1399
illumine?1499
illustrate1526
illightena1555
illuminate?1566
unblind1598
irradiate1628
unblindfold1643
to know (also learn, show, teach, tell) (a person) a thing or two1760
illumea1764
enlighten1811
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > enlightenment > enlighten [verb (transitive)]
lighteOE
annealeOE
enlightOE
lightenc1350
enlightena1500
illustrate1526
illuminate?1566
?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. I iij b Excellent Doctors in this Universitie..by whose good condition and doctrine all Europe is at this daye illuminated.
1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 91 Disciplines illuminate the intellect.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 10 You have illuminated my mind and relieved me from imaginary shackles of conscientious obligation.
1899 N.E.D. at Illuminate Mod. Testimonial, I cannot imagine a teacher more gifted to lead, encourage, and illuminate a body of young students.
4. To throw light upon (a subject); to make luminous or clear; to elucidate. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > expound, explain [verb (transitive)]
arecchec885
unloukOE
overrunOE
sutelec1000
trahtnec1000
unfolda1050
belayc1175
openc1175
onopena1200
accountc1300
undo?a1366
remenea1382
interpret1382
unwrap1387
exploitc1390
enlumine1393
declarec1400
expoundc1400
unplait?c1400
enperc1420
planea1425
clearc1440
exponec1440
to lay outc1440
to give (also carry) lightc1449
unwind1482
expose1483
reducea1500
manifest1530
explicate1531
explaina1535
unlock?1536
dilucidate1538
elucidate1538
illustrate1538
rechec1540
explicate1543
illucidate1545
enucleate1548
unsnarl1555
commonstrate1563
to lay forth1577
straighten1577
unbroid1577
untwist1577
decipherc1586
illuminate1586
enlighten1587
resolvec1592
cipher1594
eliquidate1596
to take (a person) with one1599
rivelc1600
ravel1604
unbowel1606
unmist1611
extricate1614
unbolta1616
untanglea1616
enode1623
unperplexa1631
perspicuate1634
explata1637
unravel1637
esclarea1639
clarify1642
unweave1642
detenebrate1646
dismystery1652
undecipher1654
unfork1654
unparadox1654
reflect1655
enodate1656
unmysterya1661
liquidatea1670
recognize1676
to clear upa1691
to throw sidelight on1726
to throw (also cast, shed) light on (also upon)1731
eclaircise1754
irradiate1864
unbraid1880
predigest1905
to get (something) straight1920
disambiguate1960
demystify1963
1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie To Innes of Court, sig. Aivv Other autentique probacions did illuminate and giue information.
1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet. Illuminate, to enlighten, or make plaine.
a1623 H. Swinburne Treat. Spousals (1686) 17 Which Reason might be illuminated with sundry Examples.
a1748 I. Watts Improvem. Mind (1838) p.v. My health is insufficient to amplify these remarks, and to illuminate the several pages with variety of examples.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1744 I. 89 [Johnson:] The various incidents [in Johnson's ‘Life of Savage’] are..illuminated throughout with so much philosophy.
1863 D. Wilson Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. (ed. 2) II. iv. iv. 267 All combine to illuminate the obscure period of..history.
5. To make resplendent or illustrious; to shed a lustre upon.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > invest with splendour > make radiant
illumine1508
illuminatea1616
irradiate1651
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. iii. 109 What trash is Rome?..when it serues For the base matter, to illuminate So vile a thing as Cæsar. View more context for this quotation
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 497 The chiefest Gentry... All which in each degree..illuminat the soyle with grandure.
1830 I. D'Israeli Comm. Life Charles I III. iv. 43 Hampden was to have illuminated with his genius this new order of government.
1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. vii. 103 Self-sacrifice illuminated by love.
6. To decorate profusely with lights, as a sign of festivity or in honour of some person or some event.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > illuminate [verb (transitive)] > as a sign of festivity
illuminate1702
society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > [verb (intransitive)] > be illuminated as token of
illuminate1702
society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > [verb (transitive)] > illuminate as token of
illuminate1702
1702 London Gaz. No. 3842/1 The whole City being in an extraordinary manner illuminated.
1717 tr. A. F. Frézier Voy. South-Sea 204 The Steeples of the Church were adorn'd with Ensigns..and illuminated with Lanthorns.
1863 Illustr. London News 28 Mar. 358/2 The hotels..and places of business were illuminated with..transparencies and variegated lamps.
7.
a. To set alight, light, kindle. rare.
ΚΠ
1658 T. Willsford Natures Secrets 66 [It] will extinguish a torch that is lighted, and being immediately put in again, it will illuminate it.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis I. xxxix. 379 The butler..illuminated the antique gothic chandelier.
b. intransitive. To take fire, to light up; of a town, etc.: to be decorated with lights as a sign of festivity or celebration. Also, to become excited (see also quot. 1926).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > be or become illuminated [verb (intransitive)]
illumine?a1513
illuminate1706
lighten1906
1706 D. Defoe Rev. 2 Mar. 108 The other Gentleman and his Man coming, and holding a real Candle up to Decide it, Affirm'd the Doctors Candle was Lighted; the Grave Gentleman went on, with an Ay, I think it does begin to Illuminate.
1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 5 583 The wood..when it begins to illuminate, is mostly deprived of its resinous particles.
1843 Punch 4 256 If Stockport and Paisley do not.. illuminate when they shall hear the glad tidings, then is the spirit of manufacture dead to gratitude.
1871 ‘M. Twain’ Sketches New & Old (1875) 176 For eight-and-forty hours no soul in all the barony but did dance and sing, carouse and illuminate, to celebrate the great event.
1926 C. Wood & G. Goddard Dict. Amer. Slang 24 Illuminated, lit, drunk.
1927 E. H. C. Moberly Bell Life & Lett. C. F. Moberly Bell 96 The people illuminate, and go mad with frenzy for Gordon, and curse the Mahdi.
1972 Jrnl. Social Psychol. 87 90 Subjects were asked to estimate the probability that an alleged peer..would shock them when a light illuminated.
8. To decorate (an initial letter, word, or text, in a manuscript) with gold, silver, and brilliant colours, or with elaborate tracery and miniature designs, executed in colours; to adorn (a manuscript, inscription, text, etc.) with such decorative letters and miniatures. †Formerly, also, to colour a map.In this sense it has taken the place of enlumine v.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > decoration > decorate [verb (transitive)] > illuminate
enluminec1366
lumine1387
limn14..
flourishc1440
enlimn1453
miniate1670
illuminate1706
miniature1716
illumine1717
alluminate1726
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To illuminate,..to draw in Gold and Colours the beginning Letters and other Ornaments, as it is done in many old Manuscript Books; to lay Colours upon Maps and Prints.
1710 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 47 Some of the Letters are illuminated.
1774 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry I. Diss. ii. sig. fv He was so fond of letters, that he did not disdain to bind and illuminate books.
1864 M. B. Smedley Linnet's Trial II. iii. viii. 88 That shall be the text which I choose, to illuminate and hang up in my bedroom.
Derivatives
iˈlluminating adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > [adjective] > that illuminates
illuminating1632
illuminative1644
luminating1746
luminarious1773
luminant1891
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 31 The splendor of the illuminating Image.
1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 37 The illuminating guidance of Gods law.
1780 W. Cowper Table Talk 712 To shed illuminating rays On every scene and subject it surveys.
1854 L. Tomlinson tr. D. F. J. Arago Pop. Lect. Astron. 127 Each point of the illuminating surface will project..a light which will diminish in the inverse proportion of the squares of the distances.
iˈlluminatingly adv. in an illuminating way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > [adverb]
expositively1571
expository-wise1600
explicatively1609
expositorilya1631
accountably1646
illustratively1646
explanatorily1657
luciferouslya1682
explicably1791
explainingly1836
explanatively1842
it's this way1851
illuminatingly1891
1891 G. Meredith One of our Conquerors III. xii. 249 It was the more illuminatingly damnatory for being recognized as the sentiment which no father should feel.
1965 Language 41 216 The adjective structures illuminatingly discussed by Lees.
1972 Nature 28 Jan. 204/2 Another examination scheme has also proved illuminatingly effective.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.?a1475
v.1535- the pack
- the pair of them
- the pair of us
- the pair of you
- the palace
- the palaceward
- the palouse
- the pantiles
- the party is over
- the past is another country
- the past is prologue
- the path of true love never did run smooth
- the patience of job
- the patience of job's turkey
- the patter of little feet
- the patter of tiny feet
- the peace of the church
- the peg
- the pen is mightier than the sword
- the penny dropped
- the pentice
- the perfect end of a perfect day
- the perfect end to a perfect day
- the pestilence
- the pestilence of a penny