lustre

L1U1S1T1R1E1
/ˈlʌstə/Northern England/ˈlʊstə/

noun

UK standard spelling of luster (shine, etc.).

Less commonScrabble 6

Meanings

lustre1

nounlustre (countable and uncountable, plural lustres)

plural lustres

  1. countableuncountableUK standard spelling of luster (shine, etc.).

    Various kinds of minerals differ in their lustre; iron pyrites are described as having a metallic lustre, glassy materials a vitreous lustre; others, such as opal, look resinous, and the lustres of yet others are described as being either pearly, or silky, or dull, like earth.

    4 more examples

    In the centre is painted an eagle, from whose beak an elegant glass lustre chandelier is suspended. There are also ten smaller chandeliers in different parts of the room.

    1838, John Henry Brady, A new pocket guide to London and its environs

    On the ground floor, the library (a room in carved oak) is lighted by a lustre composed of twelve regenerative burners enclosed in tinted glasses.

    1889, anonymous author, The Journal of Gas Lighting, Water Supply & Sanitary Improvement

    ...he went out through the unfamiliar hall, setting the chandelier clashing its dusty lustres with his hand, leaving a prismatic jangle behind him in the empty house.

    2013, Shena Mackay, Redhill Rococo, →ISBN

    As TransPennine Express 185130 departs with the 1654 to Manchester Piccadilly, while Northern 150273 waits with the 1712 to Sheffield, it is clear from this vantage point that the Grade 1 listed station has lost some of its lustre. But this is May 23 2023... before work to restore that lustre started.

    2025 July 23, Richard Foster, “Huddersfield's overdue makeover”, in RAIL, number 1040, page 36
verblustre (third-person singular simple present lustres, present participle lustring, simple past and past participle lustred)

present singular third person lustres · participle present lustring · participle past lustred · past lustred

  1. UKalternativeAlternative form of luster.

lustre2

nounlustre (plural lustres)

plural lustres

  1. UKalternativeAlternative form of luster: A 5-year period, especially (historical) in Roman contexts.

lustre3

nounlustre (plural lustres)

plural lustres

  1. UKalternativeobsoleteAlternative form of luster: a den, a dwelling-place in a wilderness, especially for animals.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna surface coating for ceramics or porcelain

Similar
Broader

nouna quality that outshines the usual

Broader

nounthe visual property of something that shines with reflected light

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

lustre · noun, verb

  1. Middle Frenchlustre
  2. Englishlustre

From Middle French lustre. See luster (etymology 1).

Full word history & related roots →

lustre · noun

  1. Old Latin*loustrom
  2. Latinlustrum
  3. Middle Englishlustre
  4. Englishlustre

From Middle English lustre, from Latin lustrum, from Old Latin *loustrom, of uncertain origin. More at lustrum.

Full word history & related roots →

lustre · noun

  1. Ancient Greek*δύστρον“place animals wallow”
  2. Latinlustra“wilds, woods”
  3. Englishlustre

From Latin lustra (“wilds, woods”), thought to derive from unattested *dustrum, from unattested Ancient Greek *δύστρον (*dústron, “place animals wallow”), from δύω (dúō, “to plunge, to wallow”).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with lustre

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

lustre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lustre

MLA

“lustre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lustre. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lustre,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lustre.

Source: lustre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.