luminary

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*lewk-“bright; to shine”
2. Medieval Latin · derived fromlūminārium
3. Old French · derived fromluminarie“lamp, lights, lighting; candles; brightness, illumination”
4. Middle English · inherited fromlūminārī
5. English todayluminary

From Late Middle English lūminārī, lūminārīe (“lamp; source of spiritual light, example of holiness; glory”), borrowed from Old French luminarie (“lamp, lights, lighting; candles; brightness, illumination”), variant of luminaire (“light fixture”) (modern French luminaire), from Medieval Latin lūminārium, from lūmināre (“that which gives light; light; lamp; body giving light, especially a heavenly body”), from lūmen (“light; brightness”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -āris (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Doublet of luminaire.

Words from the same roots