lucifer
/ˈluːsɪfə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.43 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
The King of Babylon who was compared to the planet Venus in first the Wycliffe version then the King James Version of Isaiah 14:12; it is unclear whether this verse refers to a specific king or to a representation of the entire line of kings of Babylon.
noun
Ellipsis of lucifer match, sulfur or phosphorus friction matches.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: Vesper, Hesperus, evening star, Venus"
- "The invention of the Lucifer Match has brought with it many dangers. In one year, in London, there were published thirty-nine accounts of serious conflagrations through children playing with lucifers, the igniting of the matches, and the careless use of them... To guard against the recurrence of these sad results has been invented "the Safety Match," or a match which cannot ignite by friction with ordinary substances..."
- "While you’ve a lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that’s the style"
- "In the era of Twain and Grant cigar-smoking paraphernalia consisted mainly of a cigar cutter; the cigar itself was lit with a lucifer (safety match)."
Etymology
From Middle English Lucifer, from Latin Lūcifer (from lūx (“light”) + ferō (“bear, carry”)). Attested in Old English as Lūċifer. Replaced native calque lēohtberend (“lightbearer”) also from the same Latin source. Application of the name to Satan results from what is probably a misinterpretation of Isaiah 14:12 (whence also the corresponding sense of morning star).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈluːsɪfə/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Astronomy.