bright
/ˈbɹaɪ̯t/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.61 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of climate or weather: not cloudy or gloomy; fair; also, of a period of time, the sky, etc.: characterized by much sunshine and good weather.
adj
Example Sentences
- "The sky was remarkably bright and blue on that beautiful summer day."
- "Where the bright Seraphim in burning row / Their loud up-lifted Angel trumpets blow; / And the Cherubick hoſt in thouſand quires / Touch their immortal Harps of golden wires, […]"
- "Thee Father firſt they ſung Omnipotent, / […] that brighteſt Seraphim / Approach not, but with both their wings veil thir eyes."
- "There were very few people about, and though the sun was bright, and the air clear and fresh, the big, grim-looking waves, that seemed dark themselves because the foam that topped them was like snow, forced themselves in through the narrow mouth of the harbour—like a bullying man going through a crowd."
- "Could you please dim the light? It’s far too bright."
- "It was said that the Irish whom [Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of] Feversham had let loose were marching on London and massacring every man, woman, and child on the road. At one in the morning the drums of the militia beat to arms. […] Before two the capital wore a face of stern preparedness which might well have daunted a real enemy, if such an enemy had been approaching. Candles were blazing at all the windows. The public places were as bright as at noonday."
Etymology
The adjective is from Middle English bright, from Old English berht, beorht, bryht, byrht, from Proto-West Germanic *berht, from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵ- (“to gleam, shine, whiten”). The noun is derived from Middle English bright (“brightness, brilliance; daylight; light”), from bright (adjective): see above. Cognates Cognate with Scots bricht (“bright”), Danish bjært (“bright”), Faroese and Icelandic bjartur (“bright”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjart (“bright”), Swedish bjärt (“bright”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷𐍄𐍃 (bairhts, “bright, clear; evident”); also Welsh berth (“beautiful, fair, fine”), Albanian bardhë (“white”), Lithuanian brėkšti (“to dawn”), Polish brzeżdżyć (“to dawn”), Russian бре́зжить (brézžitʹ, “to dawn”), Persian برازیدن (barâzidan, “to beautify; to befit”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰerHǵ-, bright, berht, *berht, *berhtaz, brighte
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɹaɪ̯t/
- British English: /ˈbɹaɪ̯t/
Usage
Inflected Forms
brighter (comparative)
brightest (superlative)
brights (plural)
more bright (comparative)
most bright (superlative)
brights (present, singular)
brighting (participle, present)
brighted (participle, past)
brighted (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
brighted (first person, past)