illuminantadj.n.
/ɪˈl(j)uːmɪnənt/ A. adj.
Lighting up, enlightening.
ΚΠ
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iv. 493 Chrysostom stiles it [divine illumination] the illuminant Intellect.
1886 E. Worsdell Gosp. Divine Help (1888) viii. 153 ‘Types’ and sacrifices were ‘a shadow of the good things to come’, and therefore not illuminant of them.
B. n.
That which illumines or illuminates; an illuminating or lighting body, substance, or agent; a source of illumination.In Webster 1864 noted as Obsolete but subsequently in common use as a general term for artificial agents of light.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > [noun] > one who or that which illuminates
lightc1325
alumerea1350
lanternc1374
lightenera1382
light-givera1382
light-makera1425
illuminera1500
illuminator1598
illuminant1644
emblazer1776
luminant18..
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > [noun]
lightOE
luminary1484
lumination1654
luminant18..
illuminant1874
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xiii. 112 The refraction is made towardes the perpendicular drawne from the illuminant to the superficies.
1686 R. Boyle Free Enq. Notion Nature iv. 117 The Bodies that are endow'd with it [light]..as the Planets by participation from an External Illuminant.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. v. 106 The illuminants or combustibles have consisted of animal or vegetable oils.
1882 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Mar. 2/1 The incandescent lamp as a domestic illuminant.
1895 S. R. Crockett Sweetheart Trav. 232 He carried no illuminant with him except a few lucifer matches.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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adj.n.1644