Word.ws English Dictionary

luminary

Syllables: lu·min·a·ryUK/ˈluːmɪn(ə)ɹi//ˈluməˌnɛɹi/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

luminary noun: one who is an inspiration to others; one who has achieved success in one's chosen field; a leading light.

Noun

luminary (plural luminaries)

  1. One who is an inspiration to others; one who has achieved success in one's chosen field; a leading light.
    • For more than a decade, forces on the ideological extremes have torn at the global political fabric. And for just as long, the luminaries at the World Economic Forum have fretted about how dangerous that phenomenon is — for the businesses they lead and the countries they govern.2024 January 20, Nahal Toosi, “Populism Keeps Rattling the Globe. Elites Have No Idea What to Do.”, in POLITICO, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2024
    Synonyms:
    guiding light
  2. (uncommon) A body that gives light; especially, one of the heavenly bodies.
    • […] then firſt adornd / With thir bright Luminaries that Set and Roſe, / Glad Evening & glad Morn crownd the fourth day.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
    • The first eye of consequence (under the invisible Author of all) is the visible luminary of the universe.1711 December 27 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SUNDAY, December 17, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 250; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a...
  3. (archaic) An artificial light; an illumination.
    • [T]he Sun of Righteouſneſs [Jesus Christ], when, on the nations of thoſe who are ſaved, he ariſes with healing under his wings, ſhall ſcatter by his brightneſs, every cloud which ſat around them. To the diſtant influence of this powerful luminary on the heart, its regeneration is at preſent owing....1792, David Williamson, “Sermon I. On the Influence of Religion on the Death of Good Men. Genesis XLIX. 18.”, in Lectures on Civil and Religious Liberty: […], London: Printed for the author, […]...
    • [page 378] The paper read was on "The Electric Light applied to Lighthouse Illumination," by Mr. J[ames] N[icholas] Douglass, M. Inst. C.E. The author showed the progress of lighthouse luminaries from wood and coal fires to the introduction of tallow candles, fatty oils, mineral oils, coal gas, and...1879 May, “Proceedings of Societies. [Institution of Civil Engineers, March 25.]”, in William Crookes, editor, The Monthly Journal of Science, volume IX (New Series; volume XVI (Old Series)), London...

luminary meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada

luminary in Tamil

அறிவு மேதை, அறிவுமேதை, ஆன்றோர், ஒளிப் பிழம்பு, ஒளிப்பிழம்பு, விண்சுடர்

luminary in Bengali

বিখ্যাত ব্যক্তি, আলোকবর্তিকা

luminary in Malayalam

leading light, guiding light, inspiration
തേജപുഞ്ജം, ഉജ്ജ്വലവ്യക്തി, തേജസ്വി, മാർഗ്ഗദീപം, വഴിവെളിച്ചം, കേതുമാൻ

luminary in Kannada

ದೊಡ್ಡವರು, ಹೊಗಳಪಟ್ಟವರು, ಪೊಗಳ, ದಿಮ್ಮಿದರ್, ಮಿಂಚುಗೆ, ಸುಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

Examples of luminary in a sentence

  • The Intercourſe between God and his Soul was as conſtant and periodical as the Riſing and Setting of the Great Luminary of Heaven; […]1741, John Pinsent, “The Character of Andrew Barker, Esq; …”, in [John Wilford], editor, Memorials and Characters, together with the Lives...
  • To the diſtant influence of this powerful luminary on the heart, its regeneration is at preſent owing.1792, David Williamson, “Sermon I. On the Influence of Religion on the Death of Good Men. Genesis XLIX. 18.”, in Lectures on Civil and...

Synonyms of luminary

Forms of luminary

pluralluminaries

Origin of luminary

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 formed from luminary

Questions about luminary

What does luminary mean?
Luminary means one who is an inspiration to others; one who has achieved success in one's chosen field; a leading light.
What is luminary in Tamil?
Luminary in Tamil is அறிவு மேதை, அறிவுமேதை, ஆன்றோர். See Luminary meaning in Tamil.
How do you use luminary in a sentence?
The Intercourſe between God and his Soul was as conſtant and periodical as the Riſing and Setting of the Great Luminary of Heaven; […]
What part of speech is luminary?
Luminary is a noun.
How do you pronounce luminary?
Luminary is pronounced /ˈluːmɪn(ə)ɹi/ (UK).
What is the plural of luminary?
The plural of luminary is luminaries.

Words near luminary in the dictionary

  1. luminaria
  2. luminarias
  3. luminaries
  4. luminarium
  5. luminariums
  6. luminary
  7. luminase
  8. luminate
  9. luminated
  10. luminates
  11. luminating

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: luminary (page history and authors); luminary (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); luminary (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); luminary (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); luminary (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-luminary.wav, En-us-luminary.flac, en-au-luminary.ogg.

Cite this entry: “luminary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/luminary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.