3 June 2019
lambent
[lam-buh nt]
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.
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 forms
lam·bent·ly , adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for lambent
bright, brilliant, flickering, glowing, lustrous, radiant, shinning
Examples from the Web for lambent
Contemporary Examples of lambent
A lambent spotlight shines on each individual in his portraits, reminding the world of their forgotten existence.
The Daily Beast logo
Ghosts of the Sahara
Lizzie Crocker
April 9, 2011
Historical Examples of lambent
Just as we were parting at the door, Helen turned full on me her great, lambent eyes.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
A sudden tremor seemed to shake the lambent flame that had lured him on.
Flip: A California Romance
Bret Harte
Venus flamed a lambent disk of pale saffron, low over the horizon.
The Octopus
Frank Norris
Their eyes are luminous and lambent, but it is a melancholy light.
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, No. XXIV, May 1852, Vol. IV
Various
Today’s quote
America, how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood?
– Allen Ginsberg
On this day
3 June 1839 – China destroys more than 1,000,000 tonnes of opium seized from British traders. In retaliation, Britain declared war on China in what became known as the First Opium War.
3 June 1924 – Death of Franz Kafka, Austrian novelist, who wrote in German. Two of his books (‘The Trial’ and ‘The Castle’) were published posthumously against his wishes. He wrote of a dehumanised world in which he explored paranoia, isolation, fear and bewilderment, from which the term ‘Kafka-esque’ has been coined. Born 3 July 1883.
3 June 1926 – birth of Allen Ginsberg, leading American beat-generation writer and poet. Died 5 April 1997.
3 June 1937 – Following his abdication in December 1936, former King Edward VIII of Britain, marries American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.
3 June 1968 – Andy Warhol, pop-artist, is shot by feminist Valerie Solanas, founder of the Society for Cutting Up Men (S.C.U.M.) because she felt that Warhol had too much control over her life. Warhol was seriously injured in the shooting. Doctors had to cut his chest open and massage his heart to keep him alive. Warhol survived the shooting, but suffered permanent physical effects. The shooting had a profound effect on the direction his life and art took.
3 June 1992 – Mabo Day: The High Court of Australia found in favour of Eddie Koiki Mabo who had challenged the principle of ‘terra nullius’ (or ‘uninhabited land’). Terra nullius had allowed the Commonwealth Government of Australia to legally take over and own land that had previously belonged to the indigenous people. Unfortunately, Eddie Mabo had died 3 months before the decision was handed down. The ‘Mabo Decision’ was a significant turning point in the history of Australia’s indigenous people, giving legal recognition of indigenous rights to native land title.
3 June 2016 – death of Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr), American professional boxer (former world heavy-weight champion), philanthropist, social activist. Born 17 January 1942.