illumination
/ɪˌlumɪˈneɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.35 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The act of illuminating, or supplying with light; the state of being illuminated.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Adornment of books and manuscripts with colored illustrations. See illuminate (transitive verb).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The room was filled with soft illumination from the candles."
- "The people hereabouts, sir, would seem to dispense with street illumination, and it is very dark tonight."
- "The philosopher’s work gave intellectual illumination to many."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Proto-Indo-European *lewk- Proto-Indo-European *-s- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *léwksmn̥ Proto-Italic *louksmən Latin lūmen Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin lūminō Latin illūminō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Late Latin illūminātiōbor. Middle French illuminationbor. English illumination Borrowed from Middle French illumination, from Late Latin illūminātiō, from Latin illumino. Equivalent to illuminate + -ion.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: illūminātiō, illumino
- Suffix: illuminate
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪˌlumɪˈneɪʃən/
- British English: /ɪˌl(j)umɪˈneɪʃən/