lambent
/ˈlæmbənt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.61 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Brushing or flickering gently over a surface.
adj
Exhibiting lightness or brilliance of wit; clever or witty without unkindness.
Example Sentences
- "1800, William Cowper, The Task, Book VI: "The Winter Walk at Noon", Poems, J. Johnson, page 232, No foe to man / Lurks in the ſerpent now: the mother ſees, / And ſmiles to ſee, her infant's playful hand / Stretch'd forth to dally with the creſted worm, / To ſtroke his azure neck, or to receive / The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue."
- "“As they walked together between the houses, Lena’s smooth arm brushed his. His skin felt lambent at the touch.”"
- "The lambent glow of fireflies delighted the children."
- "[W]hile I held my son, in the short space Betwixt our kisses and our last embrace; Strange to relate, from young Iülus’ head A lambent flame arose, which gently spread Around his brows, and on his temples fed."
- "1839, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jonathan Birch (translator), Faust: A Tragedy, Black and Armstrong, page 127, The Witch, with much ceremony, fills the basin. As FAUST is about to raise it to his lips, it emits a clear flame. MEPHISTOPHELES. Quick! quickly down with it!—no breathing time allowed! […] And does a lambent flame prevent thee quaff?"
- "Sir Edward suddenly started from his chair; his thin and generally bending form became erect and stately, and his sunken eyes emitted a stream of lambent fire, as he exclaimed:—...."
Etymology
From Latin lambēns, present participle of lambō (“lick”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: lambēns
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlæmbənt/
- British English: /ˈlæmbənt/
Inflected Forms
more lambent (comparative)
most lambent (superlative)