lighting 
lighting 1 (H'ting), . l< MK. Hilling.; ii-tingr, 
< AS. lililiimi, li/lilinig, lighting, h/litini/, /milling, 
verbal n. of li/ilnn, li/it<in, lij;lii. .shine, ilhinii- 
imto: oo liglttl, r.j 1. The act of making light 
or becoming lifc'it. Sec light 1 , r. t. 2. The act 
of igniting or illuminating: as, the lighting of a 
lire ; street -//V//I/IHI/. 
Rlectrlc li : ihiin ; / and working of railways and tramways 
an upon a commercial and useful stage. 
Nature. XXXVII. 303. 
3. Ill uirt(il-irrking, same us mni' tiling. 
lighting- (li't ing), n. [< ME. "lihting, < AS. HI, t- 
inii, a. making or becoming light, alleviation, 
verbal n. of Imtan, lelitan, make light, leohtiuii, 
become light: seolighft, v.] The act of making 
or becoming light or loss heavy. See Ugh ft. v. t. 
lighting 3 (li'tihg), n. [Verbal n. of lightf, v.] 
The act of alighting, as from flight. 
Ere long it was noticed that In the process of lighting 
[of various birds] there was, very commonly, a conspicu- 
ous Itashing-out of white on wings or tail, or on both. 
Amer. Naturalist, XXII. 202. 
light-iron (Ut'I'6rn), n. An iron stand serving 
to hold a candle or a lamp: an early utensil, 
kept in use in some localities until lately, 
light-keeper (irt'ke'pdr), . The person who has 
charge of the light in a lighthouse or lightship. 
I reached Dublin on the evening of the 5th, and, with- 
out giving the lightkeeper any warning of my visit, went 
straight to the lighthouse. 
Nineteenth Century, XXIV. 87. 
light-legged (IH'leg'ed or -legd), a. Nimble ; 
swift of foot. 
Lightlegged Fas has got the middle space. 
Sir P. Sidney. 
lightless (lit'les), a. [< ME. lightless, < AS. 
leoktleiis, without light, < ledlit, light, + -Icds, 
= E. -less: see Ugh ft, n., and -less.] Without 
light ; giving no light ; dark. 
Upon the chaungynge of the moone, 
Whan lightlees is the world. 
Chmieer, Trollus, 111. 660. 
The lightless fire. 
Which, in pale embers hid, lurks to aspire. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 4. 
These largo Kghtlest waves of the sun ... are frequent- 
ly called obscure or invisible heat. 
TyndaU, Forms of Water, p. 13. 
lightly (lit'li). adv. [< ME. lightly, ligtltche, 
HIitllcHe, < AS. kdhtlice (= OPries. lichtelik = 
D. ligtelyk = MLG. lichtcliken = OHG. lihtlihho, 
MHO. Khtcliclie, Q. Icichtlich), in a light man- 
ner, < ledhtlic, a., light, < ledht, light, + -He = E. 
-fy 1 .] 1. Not heavily; with little weight or 
force ; not oppressively or severely : as, to tread 
lightly; to punish lightly; his cares sit lightly 
upon him. 
When at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebu- 
lun. Isa. ix. 1. 
That the King's hands may not be rudely tied by others, 
he must consent to tie them lightly himself. 
Macaulay, Sir William Temple. 
2. With little effort ; without difficulty ; easily. 
And verily yon shall not lightly find in all the city any 
thing that is more commodious . . . (than] these gardens. 
Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by Robinson), ii. 2. 
They come lightly by the malt, and need not spare it 
Scott. 
And. pushing his black craft among them all, 
He lightly scatter'd theirs. 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
3. Without good reason ; upon slight grounds ; 
readily. 
My wife Is in a wayward mood to-day, 
And will not lightly trust the messenger. 
Shot., C. ofE., iv. 4. . 
4. With little regard; slightingly; imliffer- 
cntly. 
Then, and long afterwards, colonial property was lightly 
esteemed. Bancroft, Hist U. 8., II. 362. 
5. Parsimoniously; niggardly. 
They are but lightly rewarded. 
Shot., L L. L., t. 2. 167. 
6. Without deliberation; heedlessly; incon- 
siderately. 
Matrimony ... is not by any to be entered into unad- 
visedly orli'jhtbi. 
Book of Common Prayer, Solemnization of Matrimony. 
They choose the Tranibores yearly, but lightly they 
change them not. 
Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by Robinson), ii. 3. 
7. In a light-hearted manner; cheerfully; cheer- 
ily; airily; with levity. 
I'll lightl/i front each high cmprize 
For one kind glance of those bright eyes. 
X.-oW, L. of the L., i. 24. 
The seventy years borne lightly as the pine 
Wears its first down of snow in green disdain. 
!.""> U. Bankside, iif. 
In the Spring a young mail's fancy lightlii turns to thoughts 
of love. Tennyson, Locksley HalL 
3449 
Lightly he answered her, ami smile or kiss 
Would change their talk t.. Idle words of bliss. 
WMinm Morris, Earthly 1'aradlsc, II. 274. 
8. With agility; nimbly; quickly. 
It booted not to thinko that throw to !>eare, 
Hut grownd he gave, and lightly lept areare. 
Spenser, V. IJ., II. xi. 36. 
Watch what thou secst, and lightly bring me word. 
Tennyson, Mortc d'Arthur. 
9f. Commonly; usually. 
The folk of that Contree ben lyghtly dronken, and ban 
but litille appetyt to mete. MandeMle, Travels, p. 167. 
Short summers lightly have a forward spring. 
Shak., Rich. III., 11L 1. 94. 
The great thieves of a state are lightly the officers of the 
crown. a. Jomon, Discoveries. 
lightly (Ht'li), v. t. : pret. and pp. lightlied, ppr. 
lightlying. [< lightly, adv.] To make light of; 
slight; disparage. Also lichtly. [Scotch.] 
I drew me near to my stairhead, 
And I heard my aln lord lichtly me. 
Lord Jamie Dmiylai (Child's Ballads, IV. 138). 
His House, whose front vpreard so high and eaven, 
That lightlied earth, and seemed to threat the heaven. 
T. Hudson, tr. of Da Bartas's Judith, L 78. 
light-maker (lit'ma'ker), n. That which yields 
light, as a heavenly body. Wyclif. 
lightmant (lit'man), n. A linkman. 
The stars might go to sleep a-nlghta. 
And leave their work to these new lights; 
The midwife moon might mind her calling, 
And noisy lightman leave his bawling. 
Tom Brown, Works, IV. 255. 
light-minded (lit'min'ded), a. Of light mind; 
unsteady; volatile; capricious. 
He that is hasty to give credit Is lightminded. 
Ecclos. xlz. 4. 
light-mindedness (lit'min'ded-nes), n. The 
quality of being light-minded; inconsiderate- 
ness; capriciousness. 
The singular Kght-mindednea with which a king of 
France bestows upon a Lombard adventurer a county in 
the very heart and centre of his own kingdom. 
Fortnightly Rev., N. 8., XLI. 411. 
light-moderator (Ut'mod'e-ra-tor), . An at- 
tachment for a microscope to secure a white 
light on an object when examined by artificial 
light. It consists of two disks of colored glass, one blue, 
the other red, mounted on a stand for convenience in ad- 
justment 
light-money (Ut'mun'i), n. Money levied for 
the maintenance of lighthouses; light-dues. 
Apart from the Sound dues themselves, there were 
charges of light-money, pass-money, etc., which caused a 
delay at Elsinore. E. Schuyler, Amer. Diplomacy, p. 308. 
lightness 1 (lit'nes), n. [< ME. "lightnes, < AS. 
lihtness (= OHG. liuhtnissa), lightness, bright- 
ness, < Ie6ht, KM, light : see light*, a., and -ness.] 
The state or quality of being light or bright. 
lightness 2 (lit'nes), . [< ME. lightnesse, li$t- 
nesse (= MLG. lichtnisse)j (. light?, a., + -ness.] 
1 . The state or quality of being light in weight ; 
lack of heaviness or gravity : as, the lightness of 
a burden; the lightness of cork or of hydrogen. 
Its [cork's] specific lightness, combined with strength and 
durability, recommends it above all other substances for 
forming life-buoys, belts, and jackets. 
Kncyc. Brit., VI. 402. 
2. In cookery, spouginess; the state of being 
well raised ; freedom from sogginess. 
This matter of lightness Is the distinctive line between 
savage and civilized bread. 
//. B. Stowe, House and Home Papers, x. 
3. Freedom from heaviness or clumsiness in act 
or execution; dexterity; nimbleness; agility: 
as, lightness of touch in painting or music ; light- 
ness of foot in running or dancing. 
Somtyme, to shewe his lightnettge and maistrye, 
He pleyeth Herodes upon a scaffold hye. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 197. 
He [Rab| . . . trotted up stairs with much lightness, 
and went straight to that door. 
Dr. J. Brown, Rab and his Friends. 
4. Inconstancy ; unsteadiness ; fickleness. 
Commanded always by the greater gust ; 
Such is the lightness of you common men. 
Sfto*.,3Hen. VI., Hi. 1.89. 
5f. Levity; wantonness; unchastity. 
Can it be 
That modesty may more betray our sense 
Than woman's lightness f 
Shak., M. forM., 1L 2. 169. 
Ready to sprinkle our unspotted fame 
With note of lightness f 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 3. 
6f. Light-headedness. 
And he, repulsed a short tale to make- 
Fell into a sadness, then into a fast. 
Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness. 
Thence to a lightiu-ia. Shak., Hamlet, il. 2. 149. 
= Syn. 3. Briskness, Bprightliness. ease facility, swiftness. 
4. rotatility, frirvtity, etc. (see lerity), instability, giddi- 
ness, airiness. 
lightning-discharger 
lightning 1 (lii 'ning), . [Also in the fiint sense 
ligl./i ning, lifter tin- present form of the verb, 
but according to the orig. type lightning; OIK. 
"lightning, lirtiii/iig. illumination, verbal n. of 
liglittii'ii, lirliirii. illuminate: see lt</lil<iil. Cf. 
liglilimji.] 1. A becoming light or bright; a 
flashing of light: in this sense usually lightcn- 
"'.'/ 
Be the lijtnynge of a sterre, 
To .Ihfsu alle thru iirotntis the! hrouste. 
llymm to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. H.\ p. 46. 
The great brand 
Made lightnings In the splendour of the moon. 
Tennyson, Passing of Arthur. 
2. A sudden illumination of the heavens caused 
by the discharge of atmospheric electricity from 
one cloud to another or from a cloud to the 
earth ; a flash of light due to electricity in the 
atmosphere. The lightning-flash may have a length of 
a mile or even more, and commonly takes an irregular di- 
rection (forked lightning), the path of the electrical dis- 
charge being that of the least resistance. In sheet-lightning 
no definite spark Is seen, but a general illumination over 
a broad surface ; It Is commonly due to the reflection by 
the clouds of the discharge proper. This is called mm- 
mer lightning or heat-lightning when the storm is atagreat 
distance, so that only the broad flashes of light are seen, 
usually near the horizon, and unaccompanied by thunder. 
Sheet-lightning is also described as occurring when there 
is neither storm nor cloud ; if such cases be authentic, ft 
is probably due to a weak electrical discharge in the air 
at a considerable altitude. In globular lightning or globe- 
lightning, which Is a rare phenomenon, the discharge takes 
a spherical form (fire-ball), sometimes apparently a foot 
or more In diameter, and lasts for a number of seconds, de- 
scending slowly to the earth, and often exploding with a 
loud report The discharge of f fictional electricity In the 
laboratory gives phenomena similar in kind to those of 
lightning, and the " brimstone odor" which sometimes ac- 
companies the latter (due to the formation of ozone) Is 
often observed. 
In l 
A 
n lyknesse of a li.itnynge he lygte on hem alle, 
nd made hem konne and knuwe alkyn lan 
ingages. 
Piers Plowman (B), xix. 197. 
And when the cross blue lightning seem'd to open 
The breast of heaven, I did present myself 
Even in the aim and very flash of It 
Shak., J. C., I. 8. 60. 
Mr. A. S. Barker photographed outside objects on an ex- 
cessively dark night by the light of lightning alone. The 
wind was strong, and the Interesting feature was brought 
out, when the plates were developed, that the foliage had 
perceptibly moved during the exposure. The flash must 
therefore have a measurable Interval, probably decidedly 
longer than the thousandth or ten thousandth of a second, 
as got by Wheatstone. Amer. Meteor. Jour., III. 101. 
Jersey lightning, apple-jack or peach-brandy (as made, 
or allegedto be made, In New Jersey) ; very crude and bad 
whisky. [Slang, U. S.] 
lightning"'*, . [Same as lightening^.] A be- 
coming light or less heavy ; an exhilaration of 
the spirits. [Perhaps really the same as light- 
ening^, the senses being easily interchanged.] 
How oft when men are at the point of death 
Have they been merry ! which their keepers call 
A lightning before death. Shak., R. and J., v. 3. 90. 
lightning-arrester (llt'ning-a-res'ter), n. An 
apparatus used for protecting telegraph or 
telephone lines, offices, instruments, and op- 
erators from lightning-discharges. It usually con- 
sista of two wires or plates placed In clone proximity, one 
of them connected to an earth-plate and the other to the 
line. The opposed surfaces of the plates are sometimes 
covered with sharp corrugations In directions at right 
angles to each other, and sometimes filled with sharp 
points which face each other and Increase the power of the 
instrument 
lightning-bug (lit'ning-bug), .. A firefly or 
phosphorescent beetle of the family Lampy- 
rid(p, related to the European glow-worms. Two 
common species are Pyractvtnena angulata and /*. borealit. 
The genera Phrngodes, 
Zarhipit. Mierophotus, \\_ 
and Pteotomus have 
more or less wingless, 
degraded, larviform fe- 
males, which are lu- 
minous in abdominal 
patches. The males of 
the same genera are 
winged, and resemble 
the common lightning- 
bugs, giving a more or 
less intense flash-light. 
Another lightning-bug of 
the eastern Cnited States 
is Photuris pennsylpam- 
ea, about half an inch 
long, of a yellowish color 
with a few ill defined 
lines of black or brown ; 
both sexes have wings and long elytra, and the luminous 
larva has a brush-like anal leg. A third species, common 
in parts of the Mississippi valley, is Photinuspyrnlif, which 
has blackish-brown elytra margined with palcycltow, and 
a yellow prothorax with a central black spot. The two last- 
named belong to the subfamily Lampyrince. 
lightning-conductor ( lit ' ning- kon-duk' tor), 
M. Same us Hiihliiing-rixl. 
lightning-discharger (lit ' ning -dis -char' jer), 
ii. tfainv as lit/hliiing-arrester. 
Lightning-bag, or Firefly (Pktturtt 
ftfiHsjflvaiiifa*. a, larva Oineshos 
natural sue) : A. leg of larva, magni- 
fied ; e, beetle. 
