Adjacent Words

Luster definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LUS'TER, n. [L. lustrum, lustro to purify.]
1. Brightness; splendor; gloss; as the luster of the sun or stars; the luster of silk.
The sun's mild luster warms the vital air.
2. The splendor of birth, of deeds or of fame; renown; distinction.
His ancestors continued about four hundred years, rather without obscurity than with any great share of luster.
3. A sconce with lights; a branched candlestick of glass.
4. The space of five years. [L. lustrum.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a quality that outshines the usual [syn: luster, lustre, brilliancy, splendor, splendour]
2: the visual property of something that shines with reflected light [syn: shininess, sheen, luster, lustre]
3: a surface coating for ceramics or porcelain [syn: luster, lustre]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun or lustre Etymology: Middle English lustre, from Latin lustrum Date: 14th century a period of five years ; lustrum 2 II. noun or lustre Etymology: Middle French lustre, from Old Italian lustro, from lustrare to brighten, from Latin, to purify ceremonially, from lustrum Date: circa 1522 1. a glow of reflected light ; sheen; specifically the appearance of the surface of a mineral dependent upon its reflecting qualities 2. a. a glow of light from within ; luminosity b. an inner beauty ; radiance 3. a superficial attractiveness or appearance of excellence 4. a. a glass pendant used especially to ornament a candlestick or chandelier b. a decorative object (as a chandelier) hung with glass pendants 5. chiefly British a fabric with cotton warp and a filling of wool, mohair, or alpaca 6. lusterware • lusterless adjective III. verb or lustre (lustered or lustred; lustering or lustring) Date: 1528 intransitive verb to have luster ; gleam transitive verb 1. to give luster or distinction to 2. to coat or treat with a substance that imparts luster

Oxford Reference Dictionary

US var. of LUSTRE(1).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Luster Lust"er, n. One who lusts.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Luster Lus"ter, Lustre Lus"tre, n. [F. lustre; cf. It. lustro; both fr. L. lustrare to purify, go about (like the priests at the lustral sacrifice), traverse, survey, illuminate, fr. lustrum a purificatory sacrifice; perh. akin to E. loose. But lustrare to illuminate is perh. a different word, and akin to L. lucere to be light or clear, to shine. See Lucid, and cf. Illustrious, Lustrum.] 1. Brilliancy; splendor; brightness; glitter. The right mark and very true luster of the diamond. --Sir T. More. The scorching sun was mounted high, In all its luster, to the noonday sky. --Addison. Note: There is a tendency to limit the use of luster, in this sense, to the brightness of things which do not shine with their own light, or at least do not blaze or glow with heat. One speaks of the luster of a diamond, or of silk, or even of the stars, but not often now of the luster of the sun, a coal of fire, or the like. 2. Renown; splendor; distinction; glory. His ancestors continued about four hundred years, rather without obscurity than with any great luster. --Sir H. Wotton. 3. A candlestick, chandelier, girandole, or the like, generally of an ornamental character. --Pope. 4. (Min.) The appearance of the surface of a mineral as affected by, or dependent upon, peculiarities of its reflecting qualities. Note: The principal kinds of luster recognized are: metallic, adamantine, vitreous, resinous, greasy, pearly, and silky. With respect to intensity, luster is characterized as splendent, shining, glistening, glimmering, and dull. 5. A substance which imparts luster to a surface, as plumbago and some of the glazes. 6. A fabric of wool and cotton with a lustrous surface, -- used for women's dresses. Luster ware, earthenware decorated by applying to the glazing metallic oxides, which acquire brilliancy in the process of baking.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Luster Lus"ter, Lustre Lus"tre, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lustred; p. pr. & vb. n. Lustering, or Lustring.] To make lustrous. [R. & Poetic] Flooded and lustered with her loosened gold. --Lowell.

Moby Thesaurus

abundant year, academic year, afterglow, air glow, annum, aura, be bright, beacon, beam, bedazzle, bissextile year, blaze, blaze of glory, blind, brightness, brilliance, brilliancy, buff, burn, burnish, calendar month, calendar year, candescence, ceiling fixture, century, chandelier, charisma, circlet, common year, corona, corona lucis, crown, day, daze, dazzle, decade, decennary, decennium, defective year, diffuse light, effulgence, electrolier, envelope, finish, fiscal year, flame, flare, flash, flush, fortnight, fulgurate, furbish, gasolier, give light, glamour, glance, glare, glaze, gleam, glint, gloriousness, glory, gloss, glow, gorgeousness, halo, heavenliness, hour, illustriousness, incandesce, incandescence, iridescence, leap year, luminosity, lunar month, lunar year, lunation, lustrum, magic, man-hour, microsecond, millennium, millisecond, minute, moment, month, moon, mystique, nimbus, numinousness, opalescence, patina, polish, quarter, quinquennium, radiance, radiate, ravishingness, refulgence, regular year, resplendence, resplendency, rub, scour, second, semester, send out rays, session, sheen, shine, shine brightly, shininess, shining light, shoot, shoot out rays, sidereal year, skylight, sleek, slick, slick down, solar year, splendidness, splendor, splendorousness, splendrousness, sublimity, sun, sunset glow, term, trimester, twelvemonth, varnish, wax, week, weekday, year