Meanings
lustre1
plural lustres
- 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 environsOn 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, →ISBNAs 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
present singular third person lustres · participle present lustring · participle past lustred · past lustred
- UKalternativeAlternative form of luster.
lustre2
lustre3
plural lustres
- UKalternativeobsoleteAlternative form of luster: a den, a dwelling-place in a wilderness, especially for animals.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe visual property of something that shines with reflected light
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
lustre · noun, verb
- Middle Frenchlustre
- Englishlustre
From Middle French lustre. See luster (etymology 1).
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →lustre · noun
- Old Latin*loustrom
- Latinlustrum
- Middle Englishlustre
- Englishlustre
From Middle English lustre, from Latin lustrum, from Old Latin *loustrom, of uncertain origin. More at lustrum.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Old Latin
Full word history & related roots →lustre · noun
- Ancient Greek*δύστρον“place animals wallow”
- Latinlustra“wilds, woods”
- 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”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lustre
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
lustre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lustre
“lustre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lustre. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lustre,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lustre.
Source: lustre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.