Adjacent Words

lustre definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

I. noun see luster I II. noun see luster II III. verb see luster III

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. (US luster) --n. 1 gloss, brilliance, or sheen. 2 a shining or reflective surface. 3 a a thin metallic coating giving an iridescent glaze to ceramics. b = LUSTREWARE. 4 a radiance or attractiveness; splendour, glory, distinction (of achievements etc.) (add lustre to; shed lustre on). 5 a a prismatic glass pendant on a chandelier etc. b a cut-glass chandelier or candelabra. 6 a Brit. a thin dress-material with a cotton warp, woollen weft, and a glossy surface. b any fabric with a sheen or gloss. --v.tr. put lustre on (pottery, a cloth, etc.). Derivatives: lustreless adj. (US lusterless). lustrous adj. lustrously adv. lustrousness n. Etymology: F f. It. lustro f. lustrare f. L lustrare illuminate 2. n. (US luster) = LUSTRUM. Etymology: ME, Anglicized f. LUSTRUM

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lustre Lus"tre, n. Same as Luster.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Note: in AM, use 'luster' 1. Lustre is gentle shining light that is reflected from a surface, for example from polished metal. Gold retains its lustre for far longer than other metals... It is softer than cotton and nylon and has a similar lustre to silk. 2. Lustre is the qualities that something has that make it interesting and exciting. What do you do if your relationship is beginning to lose its lustre?

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Brightness, brilliancy, splendor, gleam, radiance, resplendence, glitter. 2. Distinction, repute, renown, eminence, celebrity, glory, honor, éclat. 3. Chandelier, candelabrum. 4. Lustrum, five years.