| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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Appendix I
Indo-European Roots |
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| ENTRY: | leuk- |
| DEFINITION: | Light, brightness.
Derivatives include light1, illuminate, lunatic, lucid, and lynx.
I. Basic form *leuk-. 1. Suffixed form *leuk-to-. a. light1, from Old English l oht, l ht, light; b. lightning, from Old English lhtan, to shine, from Germanic *leuht-jan, to make light. Both a and b from Germanic *leuhtam. 2. Basic form *leuk-. Lucina, luculent, lux; Lucifer, luciferin, from Latin l x, light. 3. Suffixed form *leuk-smen-. limbers, limn, lumen, luminary, luminous; illuminate, phillumenist, from Latin lmen, light, opening. 4. Suffixed form *leuk-sn -. Luna, lunar, lunate, lunatic, lune, lunula; mezzaluna, sublunary, from Latin lna, moon. 5. Suffixed form *leuk-stro-. a. luster, lustrum, from Latin lstrum, purification; b. illustrate, from Latin lstrre, to purify, illuminate. 6. Suffixed form *leuko-dhro-. lucubrate; elucubration, from Latin lcubrre, to work by lamplight. 7. Suffixed form *leuk-o-. leuko-, from Greek leukos, clear, white.
II. O-grade form *louk-. 1. Suffixed form *louk-o-. a. lea, from Old English lah, meadow (< “place where light shines”), from Germanic *lauhaz; b. levin, from Middle English levin, lightning, from Germanic *lauh-ubni-. 2. Suffixed (iterative) form *louk-eyo-. lucent, lucid; elucidate, noctiluca, pellucid, relucent, translucent, from Latin lcre, to shine.
III. Zero-grade form *luk-. 1. Suffixed form *luk-sno-. link2, lychnis, from Greek lukhnos, lamp. 2. Attributed by some to this root (but more likely of obscure origin) is Greek lunx, lynx (as if from its shining eyes): lynx, ounce2. (Pokorny leuk- 687.) |
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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