lighter
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A lighter (sense 2)
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈlaɪtɚ/,
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈlaɪtə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪtə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: light‧er
Etymology 1
From light (“to ignite”) + -er. Cognate with Middle Dutch lichtere, lichter (“one who spreads light, illuminator”), Dutch lichter, luchter (“candle-holder, chandelier”). Compare also Middle English lightnere, liȝtnere (“one who enlightens or illuminates”).
Noun
lighter (plural lighters)
- A person who lights things.
- a lighter of lamps
- A device used to light things, especially a reusable handheld device for creating fire to light cigarettes.
- Synonym: (dated) briquet
- Cigarette in mouth, he clutched his pockets in search of a lighter.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
fire-making device
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Etymology 2
From Middle English lightere, lyghtere, equivalent to light (“to unload, lighten”) + -er. Compare West Frisian lichter (“lighter ship”), Dutch lichter (“lighter ship”), Middle Low German lichter, lüchter, lüchtære (“a small ship that lightens a load, lighter ship”).
Noun
lighter (plural lighters)
- A flat-bottomed boat for carrying heavy loads across short distances (especially for canals or for loading or unloading larger boats).
- 1945 January and February, T. F. Cameron, “Dock Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 9:
- It is, of course, possible to work only to or from lighters in this way, and such working is not very general in this country, although a certain amount of such overside work is carried on in enclosed docks.
Translations
a barge
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Verb
lighter (third-person singular simple present lighters, present participle lightering, simple past and past participle lightered)
- To transfer (cargo or passengers) to or from a ship by means of a lighter or other small vessel.
- 1900. Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain. Vol. 7, pg. 3227.
- Troops and stores were lightered to the wharves inside the harbor by steamers Orizaba and Berkshire.
- 1900. Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain. Vol. 7, pg. 3227.
- To transfer cargo or fuel from (a ship), lightening it to make its draft less or to make it easier to refloat.
Etymology 3
light (“pale”) + -er (“comparative”)
Adjective
lighter
- comparative form of light: more light
- I prefer a lighter shade of pink.
Etymology 4
light (“not heavy, weak”) + -er (“comparative”)
Adjective
lighter
- comparative form of light: more light
- What happened? You look 10 lbs. lighter!
- I wish I'd thrown a lighter punch; he's out cold.
- 1964 May, “News and Comment: WR's new parcel traffic method”, in Modern Railways, page 300:
- It is lighter to handle and more manoeuvrable, and its three caged sides with web straps on the fourth prevent movement of the contents.
- 2021 May 19, David Clough, “Swiss precision meets UK growth”, in RAIL, number 931, page 57:
- For example, lightweight construction and Jacobs bogies save weight, and a lighter train uses less power.
Anagrams
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English lighter.
Pronunciation
Noun
lighter m (plural lighteres)
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.