brightness
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word brightness. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word brightness, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say brightness in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word brightness you have here. The definition of the word brightness will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofbrightness, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
- brightnesse (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English bryghtnes, brightnesse, from Old English beorhtnes (“brightness, splendor”), from Proto-West Germanic *berhtnassī, equivalent to bright + -ness. Cognate with Old High German berahtnessī, berahtnessi (“brightness”).
Pronunciation
Noun
brightness (usually uncountable, plural brightnesses)
- The quality of being bright.
- 1918, W B Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
- The perceived luminance of an object.
- (idiomatic, figurative) Intelligence, cleverness.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:intelligence
Derived terms
Translations
the quality of being bright
| |||||||||||||||
perception elicited by the luminance of an object
|
intelligence, cleverness
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.