luna
UK/ˈluːnə/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/ˈlʉwnə/
luna noun: a luna moth: a member of species Actias luna.
Noun (1)
luna (plural lunas)
- A luna moth: a member of species Actias luna.
- “Gee,” whispered Oliver. He sat there staring. “A luna! I never thought I’d see a real luna!”1944, Elizabeth Enright, Then There Were Five, Farrar & Rinehart, page 80
- On the previous evening we had discovered with delight a luna with the fabulous moons, one on each pale green wing.1969, Sterling North, “An Introduction to Butterflies and Moths”, in Boys’ Life, May 1969 issue, Boy Scouts of America, page 64
- A lunette: a crescent-shaped receptacle, often glass, for holding the (consecrated) host (the bread of communion) upright when exposed in the monstrance.
- The Bread of Angels is first taken from the tabernacle, where it rests in the luna, and placed upon the altar, covered with a corporal. After genuflecting, the priest puts the luna containing the Blessed Sacrament on its throne—the monstrance—and elevates it […]1907 May, “Dominicanus”, “The Rosary and the Blessed Sacrament”, in the Dominican Friars, The Rosary Magazine, Volume 30, Number 5, page 494
- This receptacle is called a “luna” or “lunula” (a moon, or a little moon), and has glass on either side, so that the Host may be seen when enclosed therein. […] ¶ […] ¶ The ciborium, the pyx and luna of the ostensorium are blessed with a simpler formula than that used for the chalice, and […] ¶ […]...1917, John F. Sullivan, The Externals of the Catholic Church, BiblioLife, LLC, published 2009, →ISBN, pages 115–116
Noun (2)
luna (plural luna or lunas)
- A foreman on a plantation.
- There are several reasons why the Hawaiian-born Japanese boys and girls do not take kindly to plantation labor, but one of the chief reasons is the objection to the kind of lunas who oversee the work of the laborers.1922 June, U. G. Murphy, “The Japanese Problem in Hawaii: How the Task of Christianizing and Americanizing the Oriental is Progressing”, in The Friend, volume 91, number 6, page 130
- […] haoles could not visualize Chinese or Japanese in positions of authority. And from sad experience, the great plantation owners had discovered that the Americans they could get to serve as lunas were positively no good. Capable Americans expected office jobs and incapable ones were unable to...1959, James Michener, Hawaii, Fawcett Crest, published 1986, →ISBN, page 737
Proper noun capitalized: Luna
Luna
- The sister of Aurora and Sol; the goddess of the moon; equivalent to the Greek Selene.
- The Earth's Moon.
- Luna that ne'er shines by day.1868, George Villiers Duke of Buckingham, Edward Arber, The Rehearsal: With Illustrations from Previous Plays, Etc, page 129
- He has but little prudence, no apprehension of consequences, and none of that melancholy which in tempraments of Luna and Venus is generally felt, and from which he is saved by the combination of Mars and Mercury.1896, The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical, page 22
- A female given name from Latin.
- - - - and it so happened, that in one of old Bryan's daughters named Luna, or more familiarly Loony, he perceived, or thought he perceived, some imaginary similarity in form and air to the lovely apparition.1837, James Hogg, “The Mysterious Bride”, in Talks and Sketches: The Shepherd's Calendar, Blackie & Son, page 343
- A few seconds later, Luna Lovegood emerged, trailing behind the rest of the class, a smudge of earth on her nose, and her hair tied in a knot on the top of her head.2003, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 236
Noun (3) capitalized: Luna
Luna (uncountable)
- Argent (silver), in the postmedieval practice of blazoning the tinctures of certain sovereigns' (especially British monarchs') coats as planets.
- 4. Luna, a Mantle of Estate, Mars doubled Ermine, ouched Sol, garnished with Strings fastned thereunto fretways dependent, and tasselled of the same. [...] These Arms do belong to the Town of Beckbock in Wales.1693, Richard Blome, The Art of Heraldry, in two parts ... second edition ..., pages 76-77
- George [...] Ist. Mars, three Lions passant guardant in Pale Sol, for the Arms of England, Impal'd with Scotland, i.e. Sol, a Lion rampant within a double Tressure counterflory Mars. 2d. Jupiter, three Fleurs de Lis Sol, for the Arms of France. 3d. Jupiter, an Irish Harp Sol, stringed Luna, for...1718, Samuel Kent, The Grammar of Heraldry … Second Edition
- Silver.
- The association of the heavenly bodies with known metals and also with human organs and destinies goes back to ancient Chaldea, the land of astrologers. In Chaucer’s words: ‘The seven bodies eek, lo hear anon. Sol gold is, and Luna silver we declare; Mars yron, Mercurie is quyksilver; Saturnian...2013, John Read, From Alchemy to Chemistry
luna meaning in Tamil and Punjabi
luna in Tamil
- நிலா, நிலவு
luna in Punjabi
- ਲੂਨਾ
Examples of luna in a sentence
- Spray BT on your young oak to protect against gypsy moths, and you wipe out future lunas, cecropias, and everything else on the leaves, along with the pests.2010, Sally Roth (contributor), in Judy Pray (compiler), Garden Wisdom & Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Plant, Grow, and Harvest...
- The luna, which is a piece of glass in the shape of a moon, contains the Blessed Sacrament, previously consecrated.2007, John Trigilio, Kenneth Brighenti, The Catholicism Answer Book: The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN...
- And from sad experience, the great plantation owners had discovered that the Americans they could get to serve as lunas were positively no good.1959, James Michener, Hawaii, Fawcett Crest, published 1986, →ISBN, page 737:
- After the day was over I went to the luna to count my day but he would not.2000, Sally Engle Merry, Colonizing Hawai'i: the cultural power of law, page 321:
Synonyms of luna
Forms of luna
| plural | lunas |
|---|---|
| plural | luna |
Origin of luna
Borrowed from Latin lūna (“moon; month; crescent”).
From Hawaiian luna (“leader; supervisor”).
From Middle English lune, luna (“the moon”), from Latin lūna/Lūna, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh₂. Doublet of Lua and Roxane.
Words formed from luna
- Luna County
- lunifaction
- Druna
- Linny
Phrases with luna
Words that rhyme with luna
Questions about luna
- What does luna mean?
- Luna means a luna moth: a member of species Actias luna.
- What is luna in Tamil?
- Luna in Tamil is நிலா, நிலவு. See Luna meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use luna in a sentence?
- Spray BT on your young oak to protect against gypsy moths, and you wipe out future lunas, cecropias, and everything else on the leaves, along with the pests.
- What part of speech is luna?
- Luna can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce luna?
- Luna is pronounced /ˈluːnə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of luna?
- The plural of luna is lunas.
Words near luna in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: luna (page history and authors); Luna (page history and authors); luna (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); luna (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-luna.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Luna.wav.
Cite this entry: “luna.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/luna. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.