Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

by one's lights

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.20 in modern English

Syllables
by one's -lights
IPA
21
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

According to one's understanding.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Chiefly by the metaphor of lights as sources of illumination (e.g., lamps, lanterns, candles, torches) (thus, how something looks depends on the quality and quantity of the available light), but the sense of light as sightedness or vision is cognitively adjacent, setting up an interpretation of lights as referring to the eyes themselves (compare in my view); the potentially variable figurativeness behind punch someone's lights out is comparable here.

Synonyms

according to one's lights in someone's eyes in someone's view to one's mind in one's opinion

Questions

What does by one's lights mean?
According to one's understanding.
Where does by one's lights come from?
Chiefly by the metaphor of lights as sources of illumination (e.g., lamps, lanterns, candles, torches) (thus, how something looks depends on the quality and quantity of the available light), but the sense of light as sightedness or vision is cognitively adjacent, setting up an interpretation of lights as referring to the eyes themselves (compare in my view); the potentially variable figurativeness behind punch someone's lights out is comparable here.

How to pronounce by one's lights

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “by one's lights”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “by one's lights”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “by one's lights” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.