lightningn.adj.

Brit.

/ˈlʌɪtnɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/

Forms: Middle English leihtnyng, Middle English leyȝtenyng, Middle English lightenynge, Middle English lightinnyng, Middle English liȝtninge, Middle English liȝtnyng, Middle English liȝtnynge, Middle English litynnynge, Middle English lyghtenyng, Middle English lyghtenynge, Middle English lyghtnynge, Middle English lyȝtnynge, Middle English lytenyng, Middle English–1500s lightnyng, Middle English–1500s lyghtnyng, 1500s lyghtelyng (perhaps transmission error), 1500s lytenynge, 1500s–1700s (1800s– nonstandard or U.S. regional) lightening, 1500s– lightning, 1600s liteninge, 1600s–1700s light'ning; English regional (northern) 1800s leet'nin', 1800s– leetnin; also Scottish 1800s lichnin, 1800s lichtning, 1800s– lichtnin; Irish English (northern) 1800s lichenin', 1900s– lichnin, 1900s– lichtnin.

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: lightening n.¹

Etymology: Originally a variant of lightening n.¹ (although this is first attested later), now distinguished in form in the senses below. Compare earlier lighting n.² 3 and later lighten n. Compare also levin n., levining n., lait n.¹, leam n.¹, and later laiting n., leaming n.

A. n.

a. The sudden, momentary bright light produced naturally by a high-voltage electrical discharge in the atmosphere, typically accompanied by thunder; the electrical discharge causing this. Also (now somewhat literary): an individual discharge or flash of this kind; a thunderbolt.Lightning occurs when a sufficiently large potential difference is created between negatively and positively charged areas within or between clouds or between a cloud and the earth. The discharge typically follows a zigzagging, often branched course and the rapid heating and expansion of the air along the conducting path produces a shock wave which is heard as thunder.

ball lightning, chain lightning, forked lightning, sheet lightning, summer lightning, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [noun] > lightning

fireOE

lightinglOE

levininga1300

lightningc1300

lightc1325

thunderlightc1374

firelighta1400

laitinga1400

lighten?a1425

Jove's or God's branda1522

fulgur1563

thunder-shot1606

whirl-fire1606

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > lightning

fireOE

lightinglOE

levininga1300

levinc1300

lightningc1300

lightc1325

thunderlightc1374

firelighta1400

laitinga1400

lighten?a1425

Jove's or God's branda1522

fulgur1563

thunder-shot1606

whirl-fire1606

c1300 Pilate (Harl.) l. 241 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 117 Þer was þundre and liȝtninge..Þat hi were witles and adrad, þat hi ne þerste no whar at-route.

a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 491 Riȝt as ffram þe Est in-to þe west þe liȝtnyng smyt to grounde, As quyklich godes sone shal adoun liȝte in a stounde.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (1877) §174 The Eyr..shal ben ful of thonder clappes & lightnynges.

c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 185 The same yere was Syn Poulys stypylle fyryd..whythe the lyghtenynge.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ii. f. 98 He shall rewarde yowe whiche sendeth thunderynge and lyghtelyng to the destruction of myscheuous men.

1654 J. Rogers in Weekly Intelligencer 3 Jan. 122 The Lightning leaping from the clouds, when the Thunder chid, the Houses began to take fire.

1727 J. Thomson Summer 63 Th' unconquerable Lightning..Ragged, and fierce, or in red whirling Balls.

1791 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 1056/1 A..flash of lightning,..fell on the round tower of the church.

1880 C. P. Smyth in Nature 26 Feb. 407/2 A few lightnings and rather more auroras were seen.

1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 302 The strong man had fallen prone, as if struck by lightning.

1955 V. Nabokov Lolita (1970) ii. xviii. 219 As happens with me at periods of electrical disturbance and crepitating lightnings, I had hallucinations.

1992 D. Lessing Afr. Laughter 304 Black silver-edged clouds unfolding up into the zenith, lightning flickering low on a horizon, thunder like a promise.

2017 New Scientist 8 July 39/1 Wildfires ignited by lightning are much smaller in areas where patch burning has occurred.

b. figurative and in figurative contexts. Something resembling or suggestive of lightning, esp. in being flashing, sudden, or violent.

ΚΠ

1530 Bible (Tyndale) Deut. xxxii. f. lx Yf I whett the lyghtenynge of my swerde, and myne hande take in hande to doo iustyce, I wyll shewe vengeaunce on myne enemyes.

1686 tr. J. Chardin Coronation Solyman 149 in Trav. Persia The Lightning [Fr. foudre] of Royal disfavour fell afterwards on Mirza Sadee.

1771 H. Mackenzie Man of Feeling xxviii. 135 His eyes lost the lightening of their fury!

1821 P. B. Shelley Death Napoleon iii The lightning of scorn laughed forth As she sung [etc.].

1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 252 She..Makes wicked lightnings of her eyes.

1913 R. W. Chambers Business of Life xix. 488 ‘Bring him,’ she said crisply. And the blue lightning flashed in her eyes.

1998 J. D. Vinge Lost in Space xvii. 155 Will felt the wild lightning of inspiration strike his brain.

2. Chiefly U.S. slang. Gin, whisky, or any other strong alcoholic spirit, esp. of low quality or illicitly distilled. Cf. chain lightning n., thunder and lightning n. 4. Now chiefly in white lightning n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > gin > [noun]

bottled lightning1713

gin1713

royal bob1722

diddle1725

strike-fire1725

tittery1725

max1728

maxim1739

strip-me-naked1751

eye-water1755

sky blue1755

lightning1781

Jacky1800

ribbon1811

Daffy's elixir1821

sweet-stuff1835

tiger's milk1850

juniper1857

cream of the wilderness1858

satin1864

Twankay1900

panther1931

mother's ruin1933

needle and pin1937

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun]

water of life?c1450

burning watera1475

watera1475

aqua vitae1542

spirit1559

strong water1615

hot waters1616

spirituous liquor1659

spirit1663

fire1707

tape1725

strunt1786

hard stuff1789

firewater1799

fool's water1815

fool water1837

spirituous liquor1842

timber-doodle1842

lightning1858

1781 Morning Post 26 Sept. I have discovered that Thunder and Lightning meant Gin and Bitters.

1789 G. Parker Life's Painter xv. 154 Noggin of lightning. A quartern of gin.

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 160/1 The old hackney-coachman..would, in no very gentle terms, express his desire to add to its comforting influence the stimulant of a ‘flash of lightning’, a ‘go of rum’, or a ‘glass of max’.

1858 Calif. Spirit of Times (San Francisco) 7 Aug. 1/4 Having in his possession a few kegs of liquid lightning upon which he was avariciously desirous of reaping a speedy profit.

1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs viii. 94 In one of the saloons where men were wont to..drink lightning.

1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 28/2 Lightning and thunder, whisky and soda.

1958 L. van der Post Lost World of Kalahari ii. 53 The fiery Cape brandy known to us children as ‘Blitz’ or Lightning.

1975 R. J. McCaig Danger Trail iii. 29 If they took also a few jugs of Benton lightning for lagniappe, they could strip our red friends right down to their breechclouts.

3. Chiefly in plural. One of the top grades of white jute (jute n.¹ a); jute of this grade. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > plants, grasses, or reeds > [noun] > vegetable fibre > jute > types of

lightning1893

1893 Liverpool Mercury 22 July 8/6 Jute firm: 107 bales Lightning in triangle 3 number, in dock London, sold at £12.

1929 Observer 17 Nov. 4/3 Jute... Lightnings November–December quoted £25.

1964 R. R. Atkinson Jute i. 23 White jute is assorted into three main classes... The top class is sub-divided into Firsts, Lightnings, and Hearts.

1985 Agric. Situation India Nov. 728/1 In the Pucca bale sector at Calcutta, prices of Mill Firsts and Mill Lightning during October, 1985 remained in complete harmony with the wholesale prices of raw jute.

B. adj. (in attributive use).

Moving or flashing with the speed of lightning; very fast; done, produced, or acting with the speed of lightning; as quick as lightning.Cf. lightning-fast at Compounds 2b, like lightning at Phrases 2.

ΚΠ

1576 G. Whetstone Rocke of Regard ii. 69 Your lightning ioyes, such lasting woes did brue.

1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions iv To have a vanishing and lightning Fancie that knoweth not how to stay and fasten upon any particular.

1828 New Monthly Mag. 22 64 A huge shaggy mastiff rushed past me at a lightning pace.

1896 A. Conan Doyle in Windsor Mag. July 382/2 It [sc. a camel] is the kind of beast that the dervishes ride when they make their lightning raids.

1927 E. Glyn ‘It’ 240 She had promised to sit for him just for a lightning sketch.

1974 J. Brondfield Great Moments Amer. Sports xxx. 104 A driver needs lightning reflexes, perfect eyesight and stamina to survive the heat, the noise and the pounding vibration.

2007 Townsville (Queensland) Bull. (Nexis) 11 Dec. (Features section) 12 Never..approach a snake from the rear. They can flick themselves backwards at lightning speed.

Phrases

†P1. In phrases such as in less than a lightning, to last no longer than a lightning: a very short period of time. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adverb] > quickly

soonc825

quicklyc1300

rifelya1375

swiftlya1400

hourly1529

apace1535

in less than a lightning1591

quick time1816

succinctly1837

quickstep1855

1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 49 It shall be readie in les than a lightning.

1651 tr. F. de Quintana Hist. Don Fenise 257 A beame of her eyes..which lasted no longer than a lightning.

P2. like lightning and variants: with the swiftness of lightning; very fast.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > very swiftly

as swift (also quick, fleet) as thought?c1225

like lightning1567

(as) quick as lightning1580

like wildfire1699

like stour1787

(as) quick as a wink1825

like smoke1832

quick as a streak1839

like sixty1848

(as) quick as thought1871

at a great lick1898

like a bat out of hell1921

like the clappers1948

like a bomb1954

1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) viii. f. 101^v But yet the moodie beast thereby was set the more on fire And chasing like the lightning swift he vttreth forth his ire.

1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xv. 725 He..drives him, like a Light'ning, on the Foe.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 261 This Notion run like Lightning thro' the City.

1841 F. Marryat Joseph Rushbrook II. vi. 126 Our hero..ran like lightning to the gap.

2017 Sun (Nexis) 23 Mar. (Second ed.) (Editorial section) 12 The police and officials within the Palace of Westminster who moved like lightning to keep MPs, staff and visitors safe as pandemonium broke out.

P3. lightning never strikes twice (in the same place) and variants: an unusual or unfortunate situation or event is unlikely to happen again to the same person or under the same circumstances. Conversely lightning may strike twice (in the same place) and variants: such a situation or event may happen again.

ΚΠ

1848 Greenville (S. Carolina) Mountaineer 2 June He [sc. a lottery winner] immediately came to the resolution never to purchase another ticket!.. He had heard folks say, that ‘lightning was never known to strike twice in one place’.

1850 Northern Star & National Trades Jrnl. 23 Nov. 3/5 Lightning never strikes but once in the same place—therefore, let a man whose first wife was a good one, never marry again.

1894 C. Jillson Green Leaves from Whitingham, Vermont v. 148 On the ground that lightning may strike twice in the same place, his application might appear reasonable at first sight.

1969 H. Carvic Miss Seeton draws Line (1970) ix. 158 Lightning, as anyone knew, never struck in the same place; which was a comfort.

1993 S. Carey Eleanora's Ghost xi. 184 Was it conceivable lightning could strike twice, uniting the same two families?

2016 Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Nexis) 2 Nov. 43 Huddersfield Town will be hoping lightning doesn't strike twice as they try to bounce back from their 5-0 Championship defeat.

P4. lightning in a bottle: something exceedingly rare and remarkable. Originally and chiefly in to catch lightning in a bottle and variants: to create or experience something rare and remarkable; to succeed in a near impossible endeavour.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [noun] > rareness > something very rare

rare1566

rariety1566

black swan?1570

rarity1592

hen's milk1601

white Negro1631

rara avis1651

(one) in a million1685

collector's or collectors' item1910

lightning in a bottle1941

rare bird1962

1941 N.Y. Times 6 Oct. (Sports section) 21/1 One of Durocher's pet expressions for someone who expects miracles is: ‘What're you tryin' to do—catch lightning in a bottle?’

1987 Playboy May 147/1 Magazines latch on to something new and make it sound like lightning in a bottle.

2008 Vanity Fair Sept. 357 ‘It was lightning in a bottle,’ says Paul Wilmot, who was head of public relations at Calvin Klein in the late 1980s, when the supermodel phenomenon took flight.

2013 MELUS Winter 227 When you look at books that people have written, there is always one book that stands out. Sometimes you just catch lightning in a bottle, and it's there, and you can never duplicate it.

P5. to ride the lightning: see ride v. Phrases 3d.

Compounds

C1. (In sense A. 1a.) General use as a modifier, as in lightning discharge, lightning flash, lightning stroke, etc.; also as a modifier with the sense ‘by lightning; with lightning’, as in lightning-struck, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [noun] > lightning > bead or forked lightning > flash of

laitc900

slaughta1300

levinc1300

fire-slaughta1400

flaughta1400

thunderboltc1440

fudder1513

fire-flaughta1522

flag of firea1522

bolt1535

strokea1542

lightning bolta1560

lightning1560

fire-bolt?1562

fulgur1563

fulmen1563

thunder-thump1563

light-bolt1582

fire-flash1586

blaze1590

flake1590

clap1591

blastc1665

glade1744

streak1781

thunder-ball1820

leader stroke1934

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > lightning > flash of

laitc900

flakec1400

fire-flaughta1522

flag of firea1522

lightning1560

fire-flash1586

blaze1590

fulguration1614

fulgurity1623

flaughta1724

glade1744

streak1781

1560 J. Heywood tr. Seneca Thyestes ii. sig. Biiii^v Nor whome the flasshe of lightnyng flame shall beate, nor eastern wynde that smites vppon the seas.

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. i. 3 Secure of thunders cracke or lightning flash.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 642 Light as the Lightning glimps they ran.

1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound ii. i. 68 Yon lightning-blasted almond-tree.

1866 J. H. Newman Dream of Gerontius §4 Then sight..As by a lightning-flash, will come to thee.

1911 J. Muir My First Summer in Sierra 86 Heard a few lightning strokes in the distance, with rumbling, mumbling reverberations.

1948 ‘C. Blank’ Beverly Gray's Myst. viii. 87 A path which led directly away from the lightning-struck tree.

1995 R. Strouts & D. Lonsdale tr. H. Butin Tree Dis. & Disorder v. 99 Where the lightning discharge travels superficially over the bark surface to the roots, the resulting damage is usually minor.

C2.

a. Forming adjectives with the sense ‘that has (a) —— with the speed of lightning; having (a) very quick ——’, by combining with a noun + -ed, as in lightning-footed, lightning-witted, etc.

ΚΠ

1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode xxx, in Steps to Temple 61 The nimblest of the lightning-winged Loves.

1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. viii. 247 Mars, the lightning-footed.

1937 W. Lewis Revenge for Love (1972) iv. ii. 166 The manipulative deftness of the conjurer, pokerfaced and lightning-fingered.

2013 Booklist 15 Sept. 33/2 Fearless, caustic, lightning-witted Maxine..instigates some of the funniest banter ever scripted.

b. Modifying adjectives denoting speed or swiftness, with the sense ‘as —— as lightning’, as in lightning-fast, lightning-quick, lightning-rapid, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective] > very

seven-leagued1747

ripping1826

seven-league-booted1828

splitting1829

lightning1832

high-speed1844

double-quick1860

mile-a-minute1883

express1897

jet-propelled1947

supersonic1947

light speed1987

1832 ‘B. Cornwall’ Eng. Songs 216 They who turn the lightning-rapid spheres.

a1855 C. Brontë Professor (1857) II. xix. 48 So lightning-swift is thought.

1961 Times 25 Mar. 4/7 That strangely reluctant take-away of the club and the lightning-quick swing caused plenty of trouble yesterday.

2005 Time Out N.Y. 30 June 117/1 Zorn's famous..musical game piece demands lightning-fast reflexes.

C3. Compounds of the noun.

lightning arrester n. (also lightning arrestor) a device to protect electrical installations and equipment from being damaged by lightning by channelling the current of a lightning strike to earth.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > lightning conductor

lightning rod1770

lightning conductor1773

thunder-rod1784

paratonnerre1821

lightning arrester1852

lightning discharger1853

1852 A. Jones Hist. Sketch Electric Telegr. xii. 107 One of the means used at present is, by putting on a lightning arrester near to the recording instrument.

1961 M. G. Say Electr. Engineer's Ref. Bk. (ed. 10) iv. 42 Lightning arrestors are available which fulfil these requirements and enable complete protection to be given to transformers designed to internationally-agreed impulse levels.

2014 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 9 Aug. (Business section) 31 You can safeguard individual devices and appliances with surge protectors and lightning arresters.

lightning beetle n. North American a firefly (see firefly n. 2); cf. lightning bug n.Firefly and lightning bug are the more common terms.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Lampyridae > member of (fire-fly)

fireworm1567

firefly1655

salamander-fly1668

lightning bug1778

firebug1789

glow-fly1789

lampyrine1842

lightning beetle1854

Photuris1858

meadow-fly1867

lampyrid1895

peeny-wally1961

fireworm1567

cucuy1605

salamander-fly1668

lightning bug1778

firebug1789

glow-fly1789

fire beetle1826

lightning beetle1854

meadow-fly1867

pyrophore1884

1854 B. Jaeger Life N. Amer. Insects 75 Some months since, a lady..presented me two of these living Lightning-beetles, which she had received from Cuba.

1901 O. Loew Catalase (U.S. Dept. Agric. Rep. No. 68) 35 The luminous parts of a lightning beetle do not contain a markedly larger proportion of catalase.

2012 Joplin (Missouri) Globe 29 June 3 c/6 The lightning beetles will be caught and released on the lawn.

lightning bone n. now historical (esp. in the Himalayan region) a fossilized bone. [After Hindi bijlī haṛ ( < bijlī lightning + haṛ bone).]

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > formed by lightning

fulgurite1823

lightning stone1823

lightning tube1824

lightning bone1832

lightning rod1892

1832 Asiatic Researches 17 17 Fossil bones and organic remains exist in the most elevated parts of the Ghats. The former, here called ‘Bijlí Hár’, lightning bones, are chiefly found at the crest of the Nítí pass.

1902 Darling Downs Gaz. (Toowoomba, Queensland) 8 Dec. Frantics selling ‘lightning bones’ to cure all ailments, or holy rosaries blessed by the Grand Lhama.

2011 A. Mayor First Fossil Hunters (paperback ed.) v. 198 ‘Lightning bones’ were traditionally gathered in the fossil beds of the Siwalik Hills.

lightning box n. Theatre a box used in producing the effect of lightning on stage.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > machinery for effects > others

red fire1680

lightning box1825

blue fire1826

rain box1867

crash1891

wind-machine1906

1825 P. Egan Life of Actor ii. 67 Lightning boxes, sheep hooks, and three harlequin's bats.

1855 ‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ Doesticks, what he Says xxvi. 237 The prompter was stretched on the top of a canvas volcano, with the bell-rope in his hand, and his hair full of resin, from the ‘lightnin-box’.

1928 A. Rose Stage Effects 26 Fig. 20 is a simple but useful and convenient form of lightning box... One or more electric lights are to be in the centre of the box.

1982 Amer. Cinematographer Dec. 1312/1 There were..eight lightning boxes on stage 3.

lightning bug n. North American a firefly (see firefly n. 2); cf. lightning beetle n.

ΘΚΠ

fireworm1567

firefly1655

salamander-fly1668

lightning bug1778

firebug1789

glow-fly1789

lampyrine1842

lightning beetle1854

Photuris1858

meadow-fly1867

lampyrid1895

peeny-wally1961

fireworm1567

cucuy1605

salamander-fly1668

lightning bug1778

firebug1789

glow-fly1789

fire beetle1826

lightning beetle1854

meadow-fly1867

pyrophore1884

1778 J. Carver Trav. N.-Amer. xviii. 491 The Lightning Bug or Fire Fly is about the size of a bee.

1915 Nature 9 Dec. 412/2 The mating habits of many American species of Lampyridæ, popularly known as lightning bugs, have been investigated recently.

2001 P. Duncan Moon Women viii. 148 My favorite time of the day, especially in the summertime when everything's cooling off and the light gets soft and the lightning bugs come out.

lightning catarrh n. now historical and rare severe respiratory disease of sudden onset (probably usually influenza). [After German Blitzkatarrh (1825 or earlier as Blitzcatarrh), so named on account of the sudden onset and severity of the disease.]

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > fever > [noun] > influenza

influenza1743

grippe1775

lightning catarrh1836

flu1839

Spanish influenza1890

St. Kilda cold1897

Spanish flu1918

Asian flu1957

Asian influenza1957

Mao flu1968

Asian contagion1997

1836 Periscope Apr. in Medico-chirurg. Rev., & Jrnl. Pract. Med. 24 499/2 The German writers call it the Russian catarrh, or the ‘lightning catarrh’, blitz-katarrh, (from the suddenness of its seizure, and rapidity of its march).

1883 B. W. Richardson Field of Dis. 52 A suddenly developed and intensely severe cold or catarrh, hence sometimes called ‘lightning catarrh.’

1938 Kentucky Med. Jrnl. 36 179/1 What is this disease called influenza, la-grippe, hot ague, a great cold, lightning catarrh, crowing cough, the strange fever, the jolly rant?

lightning conductor n. a metal rod or wire fixed to the top of a building, mast, etc., to convey the electric current of a lightning strike harmlessly to earth; also figurative (cf. lightning rod n. 2). [Compare slightly earlier conductor n. 12c.]

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > lightning conductor

lightning rod1770

lightning conductor1773

thunder-rod1784

paratonnerre1821

lightning arrester1852

lightning discharger1853

1773 Morning Chron. & London Advertiser 9 June (advt.) Lightning conductors. Carefully put up on Houses, &c.

1814 W. Bentley Diary 23 June (1914) IV. 262 The post remained, retained on the side of the steeple by the Lightning conductors.

1832 2nd Rep. Brit. Assoc. (1833) 564 This ship had not a lightning conductor up at the time.

1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) vii. 126 Lightning conductors can be fitted to trees, but the cost is high and not often justified, unless the tree is very exposed and will inevitably be used for shelter during storms.

1992 Forum for Mod. Lang. Stud. Jan. 1/68 Katrin..is able to tell Lucien of her willingness to serve as the lightning-conductor for his angers and nerves.

2003 New Yorker 4 Aug. 5/3 The boat returned with..some rigging, the chain of the lightning conductor—and the ship's cat.

lightning discharger n. a lightning arrester or other protective device which serves to channel the current of a lightning strike to earth or to prevent the build-up of electric charge.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > lightning conductor

lightning rod1770

lightning conductor1773

thunder-rod1784

paratonnerre1821

lightning arrester1852

lightning discharger1853

1853 Christian Examiner & Relig. Misc. July 17 Finding so many sparks too much of a good thing, she only obtained relief by establishing some good connection with the ground by a kind of lightning discharger.

1905 Sci. Abstr. B. 8 352 An adjacent insulator carries a vacuum lightning discharger contained in an ebonite case.

2016 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 16 Aug. (Travel section) Commercial aircraft... Are fitted with a large number of lightning dischargers (called static wicks) which dissipate electricity and protect the aircraft.

lightning express n. U.S. now rare a type of train which travels at very high speeds; cf. lightning train n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > train > passenger train > express or non-stop

express train1841

lightning express1844

express1848

limited express1860

rapide1868

limited1869

night express1877

non-stop1909

limited train1913

Blue Train1922

rapido1939

1844 Emancipator & Weekly Chron. (Boston) 5 June 22/1 While this was doing, the Lightning Express had carried the news to Washington that James K. Polk was nominated as the ‘Democratic’ candidate of the convention.

1860 O. W. Holmes Professor at Breakfast-table vi. 163 The lightning-express-train whishes by.

1969 Amer. Art Jrnl. 1 92 In 1870 he took the Lightning Express to New York and the slow boat to Europe.

lightning pain n. Medicine a sudden shooting or stabbing pain of neural origin.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [noun] > sudden pain

stitchc1000

showera1300

shutea1300

gridea1400

gripa1400

shota1400

stounda1400

lancing1470

pang1482

twitch?1510

shooting1528

storm1540

stitching1561

stub1587

twinge1608

gird1614

twang1721

tang1724

shoot1756

darting1758

writhe1789

catch1830

lightning pain1860

twitcher1877

rash1900

1860 H. L. Hodge On Dis. Peculiar to Women ii. vi. 345 If the instrument makes pressure against the sacral nerves, it often excites severe neuralgia in various parts of the body, usually so quick and transitory as to be called by patients ‘lightning-pains’.

1880 R. Bartholow Treat. Pract. Med. 568 The place where a lightning-pain has just been felt often burns for some time after.

1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xxxix. 1143 The lightning pains may be explained by the degeneration of the root-fibres.

2001 J. Le Fanu They don't know what's Wrong xii. 202 The nerves to the feet pass underneath and may be compressed by a sheet of tissue known as the tarsal tunnel, comparable to the carpal tunnel in the hands, which may result in lightning pains.

lightning paper n. now rare a kind of firework made of treated paper, giving off flashes of coloured light when lit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > types of

fire sword1482

firedrake1608

fiend1634

fire club1634

fire lance1634

fire-target1634

saucisson1634

fire-trunk1639

runner1647

fire pole1708

fire fountain1729

fire-flyer1740

line-rocket1740

devil1742

fire tree1749

Grecian fire1774

jet1774

fire pan1799

metamorphose1818

Saxon1839

lightning paper1866

asteroid1875

brilliant1875

pearl1884

1866 Adelaide Express 9 Mar. 228/5 A novelty in the chemical way for the amusement of the fireside circle is the flash of lightning paper.

1907 W. H. Dumsday Local Govt. Law & Legislation 1906 307/2 Catherine wheels, Scintillettes, Lightning paper in envelopes.

1981 S. Fregert Man. Contact Dermatitis (ed. 2) iv. 34 Phosphorus sesquisulfide present in ‘strike-anywhere’ matches and in ‘lightning paper’ sometimes causes allergic contact dermatitis.

lightning print n. a type of burn mark with an arborescent, fern-like pattern sometimes found on the skin of people or animals, or on other objects, that have been struck by lightning.These marks were at one time popularly supposed to be images of nearby objects imprinted on the person, etc., struck by lightning.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > supposed photograph made by lightning

lightning print1876

1876 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Jan. 36/1 Signor Orioli brought before a scientific congress at Naples four narratives relating to lightning-prints.

1926 Daily Mail (Atlantic ed.) 7 Aug. 10/3 The most curious of all these lesions are the so-called ‘lightning prints’ or arborescent burns.

1997 P. O'Shaughnessy Obstruction of Justice i. iii. 31 The body exhibited lightning prints, reddish streaks that form a skin rash like a fern, on the trunk.

lightning-proof adj. protected from lightning; able to withstand a lightning strike.

ΚΠ

1802 W. Sotheby Oberon i. 5 Th' unfading bow'rs Of laurel, lightning proof.

1855 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circle Sci.: Elem. Chem. 235 Every portion of the column would be lightning-proof except the intervening masonry.

2018 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 8 Jan. z1 A downward trend [in numbers of deaths by lightning] that experts attribute to more awareness, better lightning-proof construction and fewer people working in farms and fields.

lightning stone n. (a) any of various stony objects believed to have a protective effect against lightning; (b) any of various stones, minerals, or other hard materials formed, or thought to be formed, by lightning; esp. = fulgurite n. 1; cf. thunder-stone n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > formed by lightning

fulgurite1823

lightning stone1823

lightning tube1824

lightning bone1832

lightning rod1892

1823 W. H. Sykes in Trans. Lit. Soc. Bombay 3 58 The natives call it bijlee puttur (lightning stone), and suppose it possesses the property of preserving the building from being struck by lightning.

1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind viii. 208 The lightning-stones are metals, stones, pebbles, which the fire of the thunder has metamorphosed.

1935 Sci. News Let. 6 July 13/3 A ‘lightning stone’, or fulgurite, 23 feet long, has been placed on display in the geology museum of the University of Chicago. It consists of a hollow tube of rough glass, formed when a stroke of lightning hit a sand dune in the famous Lake Michigan dune area.

1997 Dis.-a-Month Dec. 871 French peasants carry a pierre du tonnerre, or lightning stone, to ward off lightning strikes.

2019 V. Shipman Summer Cottage xviii. 161 We would rush to the beach after every summer thunderstorm hoping to find fulgurite... I..pick up a lightning stone and blow the dust off it, tiny motes filling the air.

lightning storm n. a storm accompanied by (much) lightning; a thunderstorm.Quot. 1599 probably shows lightening adj. 1.

In quot. 1705 in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > lightning > lightning storm

firestorm1581

lightning storm1705

1599 R. Allott Wits Theater Little World f. 123 Salmoneus, by lightening of a Torch, did counterfet the thundering sownds & lightning stormes of heauen.]

1705 S. Cobb Honour Retriev'd 7 His Arm, extended, held a Lightning Storm; Not such as Clouds from clashing Vapours form, But such as Heav'nly Wrath is us'd to throw On Human Crimes.

1827 Morning Chron. 1 Aug. Worcester and its environs were visited with one of the most awful lightning storms, with very little thunder, ever experienced.

1991 Westcoast Logger July 14/2 During lightning storms, all work on high-lead and skyline sides must stop because the yarder is an excellent lightning rod.

2009 N.Y. Mag. 28 Sept. 97/1 Games aren't supposed to start this late, but lightning storms have set the event hopelessly behind.

lightning train n. U.S. now rare a type of train which travels at very high speeds; cf. lightning express n.

ΚΠ

1834 J. P. in Albion (N.Y.) 2 Aug. 241/1 With wild sweep It rolls across the plain, As the loud blast, that o'er the deep Drives on the lightning train.

1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels i. viii. 66 In lightning trains he [sc. the brakeman] is not given to much humor, but the article is in him.

1910 N. Amer. Rev. Sept. 326 All the resources of civilization are drawn upon to bring the champion to the goal—the telegraph, the telephone, lightning trains, newspapers, and so forth.

2004 D. Cadbury Dreams of Iron & Steel (U.S. ed.) p. xiv In 1876, tracks were cleared for the Lightning Train, which raced from coast to coast in just 83 hours.

lightning tube n. Geology an elongated or tubular piece of glassy material formed of sand or other sediment fused by lightning; a fulgurite (fulgurite n. 1). [After German Blitzröhre (K. G. Fiedler 1817, in Ann. der Physik 55 121).]

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > formed by lightning

fulgurite1823

lightning stone1823

lightning tube1824

lightning bone1832

lightning rod1892

1824 tr. K. G. Fiedler in Chemist 27 Mar. 42/1 I set out, examining the neighbourhood in search of a vitreous-sand, or lightning-tube.

1946 G. W. Stimpson Bk. about Thousand Things 253 Sand hills unprotected by vegetation are constantly shifting and not infrequently petrified lightning tubes are left projecting several feet above the surface.

1996 Atoll Res. Bull. (Smithsonian Inst.) No. 432. 37 These tubes, stacked in sand, often reach the length of several meters... They could not be lightning tubes since the sand kernels are not melted together.

C4. Compounds of the adjective.

lightning artist n. an artist who paints or draws pictures very quickly, esp. as an entertainment.

ΚΠ

1878 Era 29 Dec. 7/4 Mr Montague Scott, the lightning artist, has given several of his sketches between the acts, and has created no little astonishment.

1948 C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident iv. 48 Toppy's sister, the lightning artist, had done particularly well.

2014 Crit. Inq. 40 201/2 Tucker had a reputation as a ‘lightning’ artist who, with either hand, produced remarkably fast and accurate crayon sketches.

lightning change n. a rapid change of costume made by an actor or performer; often as a modifier.

ΚΠ

1869 N.Y. Herald 11 May 9/5 First appearance of the ‘Lightning Change’ Vocalist, Charles Garmio, who will introduce a series of original Characters, Songs, &c.

1890 Harper's Mag. June 51/2 No more ‘lightning change’ from the sock to the cothurn was ever made in life's drama.

2002 Washington Post 3 Dec. (Final ed.) c5 Actors Scott Barrow and Holly Twyford have to be lightning change artists.

lightning chess n. Chess a form of chess in which each player must make a move within a prescribed short interval of time.

ΚΠ

1895 Daily Standard Union (Brooklyn) 13 July 12/3 The veteran Bird..was playing some lightning chess with A. Burn.

1951 ‘Assiac’ Adventure in Chess iii. iii. 99 Most proficient at ‘lightning Chess’.

2006 Mt. Druitt–St. Marys Standard (Austral.) (Nexis) 15 Mar. 55 Playing lightning chess, Andrew made his older opponent work hard for victory.

lightning player n. Chess a person who plays lightning chess (lightning chess n.).

ΚΠ

1873 Westm. Papers Jan. 130 Dr. Hooker..the lightning player, now gives, where he once received, a Castle.

1949 H. Golombek World Chess Championship 1948 24 He is..one of the world's best lightning players.

2016 B. G. Montero Thought in Action xi. 223 [They] occasionally made serious blunders that would not be seen at master-level standard time-control chess, especially against each other and other very strong lightning players.

lightning round n. originally U.S. a round in a game show, quiz, etc., in which questions are asked and answered in rapid succession, typically within a limited time period.

ΚΠ

1961 Bridgeport (Connecticut) Sunday Post 13 Sept. c13/3 ‘Password’ [is] a new daytime game program testing guest celebrities and persons from the studio audience on their word skills... The winning combination will then enter a 'lightning round', in which both the members will race against the clock to identify ‘passwords’.

1987 N.Y. Times 10 Apr. b1/1 The third round was tight. No one recognized the first line of the Communist Manifesto; no one knew Ringo Starr's real name... In the two-minute lightning round, Great Neck jumped out first with three slam-bang answers.

2021 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Apr. In the lightning round, spellers would have 90 seconds to spell as many words as they can correctly.

Derivatives

ˈlightning-like adv. and adj. (a) adv. in the manner of lightning; esp. very quickly or suddenly (cf. like lightning at Phrases 2); (b) adj. resembling or reminiscent of lightning; very quick or sudden.

ΚΠ

1595 tr. G. de S. Du Bartas First Day of Worldes Creation 8 Who can sustaine the daunting lookes of him, That lightning-like disperseth life and lim?

1613 T. Dekker Strange Horse-race sig. B1^v A Race..after the Roman fashion:..in their thundring velocity, lightning-like violence, and earth-quaking, whorrying.

1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 8 The dim words which obscure thee now Flash, lightning-like, with unaccustomed glow.

1893 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 June 11/1 Some half-dozen wrapper-writers,..each..copying with lightning-like rapidity from a directory page before him.

1981 K. Stein in O. Davies Omni Bk. of Paranormal & Mind vi. xxix. 329 Electrical-wave surges that move, lightninglike, across the brain in minute fractions of a second.

2021 Logistics Managem. Mar. 20/1 The rapid rise of e-commerce, coupled with the lightning-like spread of COVID-19 is certainly not breaking news.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	lightning
释义	lightningn.adj. Brit. /ˈlʌɪtnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/ Forms: Middle English leihtnyng, Middle English leyȝtenyng, Middle English lightenynge, Middle English lightinnyng, Middle English liȝtninge, Middle English liȝtnyng, Middle English liȝtnynge, Middle English litynnynge, Middle English lyghtenyng, Middle English lyghtenynge, Middle English lyghtnynge, Middle English lyȝtnynge, Middle English lytenyng, Middle English–1500s lightnyng, Middle English–1500s lyghtnyng, 1500s lyghtelyng (perhaps transmission error), 1500s lytenynge, 1500s–1700s (1800s– nonstandard or U.S. regional) lightening, 1500s– lightning, 1600s liteninge, 1600s–1700s light'ning; English regional (northern) 1800s leet'nin', 1800s– leetnin; also Scottish 1800s lichnin, 1800s lichtning, 1800s– lichtnin; Irish English (northern) 1800s lichenin', 1900s– lichnin, 1900s– lichtnin. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: lightening n.¹ Etymology: Originally a variant of lightening n.¹ (although this is first attested later), now distinguished in form in the senses below. Compare earlier lighting n.² 3 and later lighten n. Compare also levin n., levining n., lait n.¹, leam n.¹, and later laiting n., leaming n. A. n. 1. a. The sudden, momentary bright light produced naturally by a high-voltage electrical discharge in the atmosphere, typically accompanied by thunder; the electrical discharge causing this. Also (now somewhat literary): an individual discharge or flash of this kind; a thunderbolt.Lightning occurs when a sufficiently large potential difference is created between negatively and positively charged areas within or between clouds or between a cloud and the earth. The discharge typically follows a zigzagging, often branched course and the rapid heating and expansion of the air along the conducting path produces a shock wave which is heard as thunder. ball lightning, chain lightning, forked lightning, sheet lightning, summer lightning, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [noun] > lightning fireOE lightinglOE levininga1300 lightningc1300 lightc1325 thunderlightc1374 firelighta1400 laitinga1400 lighten?a1425 Jove's or God's branda1522 fulgur1563 thunder-shot1606 whirl-fire1606 the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > lightning fireOE lightinglOE levininga1300 levinc1300 lightningc1300 lightc1325 thunderlightc1374 firelighta1400 laitinga1400 lighten?a1425 Jove's or God's branda1522 fulgur1563 thunder-shot1606 whirl-fire1606 c1300 Pilate (Harl.) l. 241 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 117 Þer was þundre and liȝtninge..Þat hi were witles and adrad, þat hi ne þerste no whar at-route. a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 491 Riȝt as ffram þe Est in-to þe west þe liȝtnyng smyt to grounde, As quyklich godes sone shal adoun liȝte in a stounde. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (1877) §174 The Eyr..shal ben ful of thonder clappes & lightnynges. c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 185 The same yere was Syn Poulys stypylle fyryd..whythe the lyghtenynge. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ii. f. 98 He shall rewarde yowe whiche sendeth thunderynge and lyghtelyng to the destruction of myscheuous men. 1654 J. Rogers in Weekly Intelligencer 3 Jan. 122 The Lightning leaping from the clouds, when the Thunder chid, the Houses began to take fire. 1727 J. Thomson Summer 63 Th' unconquerable Lightning..Ragged, and fierce, or in red whirling Balls. 1791 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 1056/1 A..flash of lightning,..fell on the round tower of the church. 1880 C. P. Smyth in Nature 26 Feb. 407/2 A few lightnings and rather more auroras were seen. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 302 The strong man had fallen prone, as if struck by lightning. 1955 V. Nabokov Lolita (1970) ii. xviii. 219 As happens with me at periods of electrical disturbance and crepitating lightnings, I had hallucinations. 1992 D. Lessing Afr. Laughter 304 Black silver-edged clouds unfolding up into the zenith, lightning flickering low on a horizon, thunder like a promise. 2017 New Scientist 8 July 39/1 Wildfires ignited by lightning are much smaller in areas where patch burning has occurred. b. figurative and in figurative contexts. Something resembling or suggestive of lightning, esp. in being flashing, sudden, or violent. ΚΠ 1530 Bible (Tyndale) Deut. xxxii. f. lx Yf I whett the lyghtenynge of my swerde, and myne hande take in hande to doo iustyce, I wyll shewe vengeaunce on myne enemyes. 1686 tr. J. Chardin Coronation Solyman 149 in Trav. Persia The Lightning [Fr. foudre] of Royal disfavour fell afterwards on Mirza Sadee. 1771 H. Mackenzie Man of Feeling xxviii. 135 His eyes lost the lightening of their fury! 1821 P. B. Shelley Death Napoleon iii The lightning of scorn laughed forth As she sung [etc.]. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 252 She..Makes wicked lightnings of her eyes. 1913 R. W. Chambers Business of Life xix. 488 ‘Bring him,’ she said crisply. And the blue lightning flashed in her eyes. 1998 J. D. Vinge Lost in Space xvii. 155 Will felt the wild lightning of inspiration strike his brain. 2. Chiefly U.S. slang. Gin, whisky, or any other strong alcoholic spirit, esp. of low quality or illicitly distilled. Cf. chain lightning n., thunder and lightning n. 4. Now chiefly in white lightning n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > gin > [noun] bottled lightning1713 gin1713 royal bob1722 diddle1725 strike-fire1725 tittery1725 max1728 maxim1739 strip-me-naked1751 eye-water1755 sky blue1755 lightning1781 Jacky1800 ribbon1811 Daffy's elixir1821 sweet-stuff1835 tiger's milk1850 juniper1857 cream of the wilderness1858 satin1864 Twankay1900 panther1931 mother's ruin1933 needle and pin1937 the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] water of life?c1450 burning watera1475 watera1475 aqua vitae1542 spirit1559 strong water1615 hot waters1616 spirituous liquor1659 spirit1663 fire1707 tape1725 strunt1786 hard stuff1789 firewater1799 fool's water1815 fool water1837 spirituous liquor1842 timber-doodle1842 lightning1858 1781 Morning Post 26 Sept. I have discovered that Thunder and Lightning meant Gin and Bitters. 1789 G. Parker Life's Painter xv. 154 Noggin of lightning. A quartern of gin. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 160/1 The old hackney-coachman..would, in no very gentle terms, express his desire to add to its comforting influence the stimulant of a ‘flash of lightning’, a ‘go of rum’, or a ‘glass of max’. 1858 Calif. Spirit of Times (San Francisco) 7 Aug. 1/4 Having in his possession a few kegs of liquid lightning upon which he was avariciously desirous of reaping a speedy profit. 1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs viii. 94 In one of the saloons where men were wont to..drink lightning. 1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 28/2 Lightning and thunder, whisky and soda. 1958 L. van der Post Lost World of Kalahari ii. 53 The fiery Cape brandy known to us children as ‘Blitz’ or Lightning. 1975 R. J. McCaig Danger Trail iii. 29 If they took also a few jugs of Benton lightning for lagniappe, they could strip our red friends right down to their breechclouts. 3. Chiefly in plural. One of the top grades of white jute (jute n.¹ a); jute of this grade. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > plants, grasses, or reeds > [noun] > vegetable fibre > jute > types of lightning1893 1893 Liverpool Mercury 22 July 8/6 Jute firm: 107 bales Lightning in triangle 3 number, in dock London, sold at £12. 1929 Observer 17 Nov. 4/3 Jute... Lightnings November–December quoted £25. 1964 R. R. Atkinson Jute i. 23 White jute is assorted into three main classes... The top class is sub-divided into Firsts, Lightnings, and Hearts. 1985 Agric. Situation India Nov. 728/1 In the Pucca bale sector at Calcutta, prices of Mill Firsts and Mill Lightning during October, 1985 remained in complete harmony with the wholesale prices of raw jute. B. adj. (in attributive use). Moving or flashing with the speed of lightning; very fast; done, produced, or acting with the speed of lightning; as quick as lightning.Cf. lightning-fast at Compounds 2b, like lightning at Phrases 2. ΚΠ 1576 G. Whetstone Rocke of Regard ii. 69 Your lightning ioyes, such lasting woes did brue. 1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions iv To have a vanishing and lightning Fancie that knoweth not how to stay and fasten upon any particular. 1828 New Monthly Mag. 22 64 A huge shaggy mastiff rushed past me at a lightning pace. 1896 A. Conan Doyle in Windsor Mag. July 382/2 It [sc. a camel] is the kind of beast that the dervishes ride when they make their lightning raids. 1927 E. Glyn ‘It’ 240 She had promised to sit for him just for a lightning sketch. 1974 J. Brondfield Great Moments Amer. Sports xxx. 104 A driver needs lightning reflexes, perfect eyesight and stamina to survive the heat, the noise and the pounding vibration. 2007 Townsville (Queensland) Bull. (Nexis) 11 Dec. (Features section) 12 Never..approach a snake from the rear. They can flick themselves backwards at lightning speed. Phrases †P1. In phrases such as in less than a lightning, to last no longer than a lightning: a very short period of time. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adverb] > quickly soonc825 quicklyc1300 rifelya1375 swiftlya1400 hourly1529 apace1535 in less than a lightning1591 quick time1816 succinctly1837 quickstep1855 1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 49 It shall be readie in les than a lightning. 1651 tr. F. de Quintana Hist. Don Fenise 257 A beame of her eyes..which lasted no longer than a lightning. P2. like lightning and variants: with the swiftness of lightning; very fast. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > very swiftly as swift (also quick, fleet) as thought?c1225 like lightning1567 (as) quick as lightning1580 like wildfire1699 like stour1787 (as) quick as a wink1825 like smoke1832 quick as a streak1839 like sixty1848 (as) quick as thought1871 at a great lick1898 like a bat out of hell1921 like the clappers1948 like a bomb1954 1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) viii. f. 101^v But yet the moodie beast thereby was set the more on fire And chasing like the lightning swift he vttreth forth his ire. 1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xv. 725 He..drives him, like a Light'ning, on the Foe. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 261 This Notion run like Lightning thro' the City. 1841 F. Marryat Joseph Rushbrook II. vi. 126 Our hero..ran like lightning to the gap. 2017 Sun (Nexis) 23 Mar. (Second ed.) (Editorial section) 12 The police and officials within the Palace of Westminster who moved like lightning to keep MPs, staff and visitors safe as pandemonium broke out. P3. lightning never strikes twice (in the same place) and variants: an unusual or unfortunate situation or event is unlikely to happen again to the same person or under the same circumstances. Conversely lightning may strike twice (in the same place) and variants: such a situation or event may happen again. ΚΠ 1848 Greenville (S. Carolina) Mountaineer 2 June He [sc. a lottery winner] immediately came to the resolution never to purchase another ticket!.. He had heard folks say, that ‘lightning was never known to strike twice in one place’. 1850 Northern Star & National Trades Jrnl. 23 Nov. 3/5 Lightning never strikes but once in the same place—therefore, let a man whose first wife was a good one, never marry again. 1894 C. Jillson Green Leaves from Whitingham, Vermont v. 148 On the ground that lightning may strike twice in the same place, his application might appear reasonable at first sight. 1969 H. Carvic Miss Seeton draws Line (1970) ix. 158 Lightning, as anyone knew, never struck in the same place; which was a comfort. 1993 S. Carey Eleanora's Ghost xi. 184 Was it conceivable lightning could strike twice, uniting the same two families? 2016 Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Nexis) 2 Nov. 43 Huddersfield Town will be hoping lightning doesn't strike twice as they try to bounce back from their 5-0 Championship defeat. P4. lightning in a bottle: something exceedingly rare and remarkable. Originally and chiefly in to catch lightning in a bottle and variants: to create or experience something rare and remarkable; to succeed in a near impossible endeavour. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [noun] > rareness > something very rare rare1566 rariety1566 black swan?1570 rarity1592 hen's milk1601 white Negro1631 rara avis1651 (one) in a million1685 collector's or collectors' item1910 lightning in a bottle1941 rare bird1962 1941 N.Y. Times 6 Oct. (Sports section) 21/1 One of Durocher's pet expressions for someone who expects miracles is: ‘What're you tryin' to do—catch lightning in a bottle?’ 1987 Playboy May 147/1 Magazines latch on to something new and make it sound like lightning in a bottle. 2008 Vanity Fair Sept. 357 ‘It was lightning in a bottle,’ says Paul Wilmot, who was head of public relations at Calvin Klein in the late 1980s, when the supermodel phenomenon took flight. 2013 MELUS Winter 227 When you look at books that people have written, there is always one book that stands out. Sometimes you just catch lightning in a bottle, and it's there, and you can never duplicate it. P5. to ride the lightning: see ride v. Phrases 3d. Compounds C1. (In sense A. 1a.) General use as a modifier, as in lightning discharge, lightning flash, lightning stroke, etc.; also as a modifier with the sense ‘by lightning; with lightning’, as in lightning-struck, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [noun] > lightning > bead or forked lightning > flash of laitc900 slaughta1300 levinc1300 fire-slaughta1400 flaughta1400 thunderboltc1440 fudder1513 fire-flaughta1522 flag of firea1522 bolt1535 strokea1542 lightning bolta1560 lightning1560 fire-bolt?1562 fulgur1563 fulmen1563 thunder-thump1563 light-bolt1582 fire-flash1586 blaze1590 flake1590 clap1591 blastc1665 glade1744 streak1781 thunder-ball1820 leader stroke1934 the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > lightning > flash of laitc900 flakec1400 fire-flaughta1522 flag of firea1522 lightning1560 fire-flash1586 blaze1590 fulguration1614 fulgurity1623 flaughta1724 glade1744 streak1781 1560 J. Heywood tr. Seneca Thyestes ii. sig. Biiii^v Nor whome the flasshe of lightnyng flame shall beate, nor eastern wynde that smites vppon the seas. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. i. 3 Secure of thunders cracke or lightning flash. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 642 Light as the Lightning glimps they ran. View more context for this quotation 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound ii. i. 68 Yon lightning-blasted almond-tree. 1866 J. H. Newman Dream of Gerontius §4 Then sight..As by a lightning-flash, will come to thee. 1911 J. Muir My First Summer in Sierra 86 Heard a few lightning strokes in the distance, with rumbling, mumbling reverberations. 1948 ‘C. Blank’ Beverly Gray's Myst. viii. 87 A path which led directly away from the lightning-struck tree. 1995 R. Strouts & D. Lonsdale tr. H. Butin Tree Dis. & Disorder v. 99 Where the lightning discharge travels superficially over the bark surface to the roots, the resulting damage is usually minor. C2. a. Forming adjectives with the sense ‘that has (a) —— with the speed of lightning; having (a) very quick ——’, by combining with a noun + -ed, as in lightning-footed, lightning-witted, etc. ΚΠ 1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode xxx, in Steps to Temple 61 The nimblest of the lightning-winged Loves. 1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. viii. 247 Mars, the lightning-footed. 1937 W. Lewis Revenge for Love (1972) iv. ii. 166 The manipulative deftness of the conjurer, pokerfaced and lightning-fingered. 2013 Booklist 15 Sept. 33/2 Fearless, caustic, lightning-witted Maxine..instigates some of the funniest banter ever scripted. b. Modifying adjectives denoting speed or swiftness, with the sense ‘as —— as lightning’, as in lightning-fast, lightning-quick, lightning-rapid, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective] > very seven-leagued1747 ripping1826 seven-league-booted1828 splitting1829 lightning1832 high-speed1844 double-quick1860 mile-a-minute1883 express1897 jet-propelled1947 supersonic1947 light speed1987 1832 ‘B. Cornwall’ Eng. Songs 216 They who turn the lightning-rapid spheres. a1855 C. Brontë Professor (1857) II. xix. 48 So lightning-swift is thought. 1961 Times 25 Mar. 4/7 That strangely reluctant take-away of the club and the lightning-quick swing caused plenty of trouble yesterday. 2005 Time Out N.Y. 30 June 117/1 Zorn's famous..musical game piece demands lightning-fast reflexes. C3. Compounds of the noun. lightning arrester n. (also lightning arrestor) a device to protect electrical installations and equipment from being damaged by lightning by channelling the current of a lightning strike to earth. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > lightning conductor lightning rod1770 lightning conductor1773 thunder-rod1784 paratonnerre1821 lightning arrester1852 lightning discharger1853 1852 A. Jones Hist. Sketch Electric Telegr. xii. 107 One of the means used at present is, by putting on a lightning arrester near to the recording instrument. 1961 M. G. Say Electr. Engineer's Ref. Bk. (ed. 10) iv. 42 Lightning arrestors are available which fulfil these requirements and enable complete protection to be given to transformers designed to internationally-agreed impulse levels. 2014 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 9 Aug. (Business section) 31 You can safeguard individual devices and appliances with surge protectors and lightning arresters. lightning beetle n. North American a firefly (see firefly n. 2); cf. lightning bug n.Firefly and lightning bug are the more common terms. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Lampyridae > member of (fire-fly) fireworm1567 firefly1655 salamander-fly1668 lightning bug1778 firebug1789 glow-fly1789 lampyrine1842 lightning beetle1854 Photuris1858 meadow-fly1867 lampyrid1895 peeny-wally1961 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Elateridae > elaterid fire-fly fireworm1567 cucuy1605 salamander-fly1668 lightning bug1778 firebug1789 glow-fly1789 fire beetle1826 lightning beetle1854 meadow-fly1867 pyrophore1884 1854 B. Jaeger Life N. Amer. Insects 75 Some months since, a lady..presented me two of these living Lightning-beetles, which she had received from Cuba. 1901 O. Loew Catalase (U.S. Dept. Agric. Rep. No. 68) 35 The luminous parts of a lightning beetle do not contain a markedly larger proportion of catalase. 2012 Joplin (Missouri) Globe 29 June 3 c/6 The lightning beetles will be caught and released on the lawn. lightning bone n. now historical (esp. in the Himalayan region) a fossilized bone. [After Hindi bijlī haṛ ( < bijlī lightning + haṛ bone).] ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > formed by lightning fulgurite1823 lightning stone1823 lightning tube1824 lightning bone1832 lightning rod1892 1832 Asiatic Researches 17 17 Fossil bones and organic remains exist in the most elevated parts of the Ghats. The former, here called ‘Bijlí Hár’, lightning bones, are chiefly found at the crest of the Nítí pass. 1902 Darling Downs Gaz. (Toowoomba, Queensland) 8 Dec. Frantics selling ‘lightning bones’ to cure all ailments, or holy rosaries blessed by the Grand Lhama. 2011 A. Mayor First Fossil Hunters (paperback ed.) v. 198 ‘Lightning bones’ were traditionally gathered in the fossil beds of the Siwalik Hills. lightning box n. Theatre a box used in producing the effect of lightning on stage. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > machinery for effects > others red fire1680 lightning box1825 blue fire1826 rain box1867 crash1891 wind-machine1906 1825 P. Egan Life of Actor ii. 67 Lightning boxes, sheep hooks, and three harlequin's bats. 1855 ‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ Doesticks, what he Says xxvi. 237 The prompter was stretched on the top of a canvas volcano, with the bell-rope in his hand, and his hair full of resin, from the ‘lightnin-box’. 1928 A. Rose Stage Effects 26 Fig. 20 is a simple but useful and convenient form of lightning box... One or more electric lights are to be in the centre of the box. 1982 Amer. Cinematographer Dec. 1312/1 There were..eight lightning boxes on stage 3. lightning bug n. North American a firefly (see firefly n. 2); cf. lightning beetle n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Lampyridae > member of (fire-fly) fireworm1567 firefly1655 salamander-fly1668 lightning bug1778 firebug1789 glow-fly1789 lampyrine1842 lightning beetle1854 Photuris1858 meadow-fly1867 lampyrid1895 peeny-wally1961 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Elateridae > elaterid fire-fly fireworm1567 cucuy1605 salamander-fly1668 lightning bug1778 firebug1789 glow-fly1789 fire beetle1826 lightning beetle1854 meadow-fly1867 pyrophore1884 1778 J. Carver Trav. N.-Amer. xviii. 491 The Lightning Bug or Fire Fly is about the size of a bee. 1915 Nature 9 Dec. 412/2 The mating habits of many American species of Lampyridæ, popularly known as lightning bugs, have been investigated recently. 2001 P. Duncan Moon Women viii. 148 My favorite time of the day, especially in the summertime when everything's cooling off and the light gets soft and the lightning bugs come out. lightning catarrh n. now historical and rare severe respiratory disease of sudden onset (probably usually influenza). [After German Blitzkatarrh (1825 or earlier as Blitzcatarrh), so named on account of the sudden onset and severity of the disease.] ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > fever > [noun] > influenza influenza1743 grippe1775 lightning catarrh1836 flu1839 Spanish influenza1890 St. Kilda cold1897 Spanish flu1918 Asian flu1957 Asian influenza1957 Mao flu1968 Asian contagion1997 1836 Periscope Apr. in Medico-chirurg. Rev., & Jrnl. Pract. Med. 24 499/2 The German writers call it the Russian catarrh, or the ‘lightning catarrh’, blitz-katarrh, (from the suddenness of its seizure, and rapidity of its march). 1883 B. W. Richardson Field of Dis. 52 A suddenly developed and intensely severe cold or catarrh, hence sometimes called ‘lightning catarrh.’ 1938 Kentucky Med. Jrnl. 36 179/1 What is this disease called influenza, la-grippe, hot ague, a great cold, lightning catarrh, crowing cough, the strange fever, the jolly rant? lightning conductor n. a metal rod or wire fixed to the top of a building, mast, etc., to convey the electric current of a lightning strike harmlessly to earth; also figurative (cf. lightning rod n. 2). [Compare slightly earlier conductor n. 12c.] ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > lightning conductor lightning rod1770 lightning conductor1773 thunder-rod1784 paratonnerre1821 lightning arrester1852 lightning discharger1853 1773 Morning Chron. & London Advertiser 9 June (advt.) Lightning conductors. Carefully put up on Houses, &c. 1814 W. Bentley Diary 23 June (1914) IV. 262 The post remained, retained on the side of the steeple by the Lightning conductors. 1832 2nd Rep. Brit. Assoc. (1833) 564 This ship had not a lightning conductor up at the time. 1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) vii. 126 Lightning conductors can be fitted to trees, but the cost is high and not often justified, unless the tree is very exposed and will inevitably be used for shelter during storms. 1992 Forum for Mod. Lang. Stud. Jan. 1/68 Katrin..is able to tell Lucien of her willingness to serve as the lightning-conductor for his angers and nerves. 2003 New Yorker 4 Aug. 5/3 The boat returned with..some rigging, the chain of the lightning conductor—and the ship's cat. lightning discharger n. a lightning arrester or other protective device which serves to channel the current of a lightning strike to earth or to prevent the build-up of electric charge. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > lightning conductor lightning rod1770 lightning conductor1773 thunder-rod1784 paratonnerre1821 lightning arrester1852 lightning discharger1853 1853 Christian Examiner & Relig. Misc. July 17 Finding so many sparks too much of a good thing, she only obtained relief by establishing some good connection with the ground by a kind of lightning discharger. 1905 Sci. Abstr. B. 8 352 An adjacent insulator carries a vacuum lightning discharger contained in an ebonite case. 2016 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 16 Aug. (Travel section) Commercial aircraft... Are fitted with a large number of lightning dischargers (called static wicks) which dissipate electricity and protect the aircraft. lightning express n. U.S. now rare a type of train which travels at very high speeds; cf. lightning train n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > train > passenger train > express or non-stop express train1841 lightning express1844 express1848 limited express1860 rapide1868 limited1869 night express1877 non-stop1909 limited train1913 Blue Train1922 rapido1939 1844 Emancipator & Weekly Chron. (Boston) 5 June 22/1 While this was doing, the Lightning Express had carried the news to Washington that James K. Polk was nominated as the ‘Democratic’ candidate of the convention. 1860 O. W. Holmes Professor at Breakfast-table vi. 163 The lightning-express-train whishes by. 1969 Amer. Art Jrnl. 1 92 In 1870 he took the Lightning Express to New York and the slow boat to Europe. lightning pain n. Medicine a sudden shooting or stabbing pain of neural origin. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [noun] > sudden pain stitchc1000 showera1300 shutea1300 gridea1400 gripa1400 shota1400 stounda1400 lancing1470 pang1482 twitch?1510 shooting1528 storm1540 stitching1561 stub1587 twinge1608 gird1614 twang1721 tang1724 shoot1756 darting1758 writhe1789 catch1830 lightning pain1860 twitcher1877 rash1900 1860 H. L. Hodge On Dis. Peculiar to Women ii. vi. 345 If the instrument makes pressure against the sacral nerves, it often excites severe neuralgia in various parts of the body, usually so quick and transitory as to be called by patients ‘lightning-pains’. 1880 R. Bartholow Treat. Pract. Med. 568 The place where a lightning-pain has just been felt often burns for some time after. 1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xxxix. 1143 The lightning pains may be explained by the degeneration of the root-fibres. 2001 J. Le Fanu They don't know what's Wrong xii. 202 The nerves to the feet pass underneath and may be compressed by a sheet of tissue known as the tarsal tunnel, comparable to the carpal tunnel in the hands, which may result in lightning pains. lightning paper n. now rare a kind of firework made of treated paper, giving off flashes of coloured light when lit. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > types of fire sword1482 firedrake1608 fiend1634 fire club1634 fire lance1634 fire-target1634 saucisson1634 fire-trunk1639 runner1647 fire pole1708 fire fountain1729 fire-flyer1740 line-rocket1740 devil1742 fire tree1749 Grecian fire1774 jet1774 fire pan1799 metamorphose1818 Saxon1839 lightning paper1866 asteroid1875 brilliant1875 pearl1884 1866 Adelaide Express 9 Mar. 228/5 A novelty in the chemical way for the amusement of the fireside circle is the flash of lightning paper. 1907 W. H. Dumsday Local Govt. Law & Legislation 1906 307/2 Catherine wheels, Scintillettes, Lightning paper in envelopes. 1981 S. Fregert Man. Contact Dermatitis (ed. 2) iv. 34 Phosphorus sesquisulfide present in ‘strike-anywhere’ matches and in ‘lightning paper’ sometimes causes allergic contact dermatitis. lightning print n. a type of burn mark with an arborescent, fern-like pattern sometimes found on the skin of people or animals, or on other objects, that have been struck by lightning.These marks were at one time popularly supposed to be images of nearby objects imprinted on the person, etc., struck by lightning. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > supposed photograph made by lightning lightning print1876 1876 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Jan. 36/1 Signor Orioli brought before a scientific congress at Naples four narratives relating to lightning-prints. 1926 Daily Mail (Atlantic ed.) 7 Aug. 10/3 The most curious of all these lesions are the so-called ‘lightning prints’ or arborescent burns. 1997 P. O'Shaughnessy Obstruction of Justice i. iii. 31 The body exhibited lightning prints, reddish streaks that form a skin rash like a fern, on the trunk. lightning-proof adj. protected from lightning; able to withstand a lightning strike. ΚΠ 1802 W. Sotheby Oberon i. 5 Th' unfading bow'rs Of laurel, lightning proof. 1855 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circle Sci.: Elem. Chem. 235 Every portion of the column would be lightning-proof except the intervening masonry. 2018 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 8 Jan. z1 A downward trend [in numbers of deaths by lightning] that experts attribute to more awareness, better lightning-proof construction and fewer people working in farms and fields. lightning stone n. (a) any of various stony objects believed to have a protective effect against lightning; (b) any of various stones, minerals, or other hard materials formed, or thought to be formed, by lightning; esp. = fulgurite n. 1; cf. thunder-stone n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > formed by lightning fulgurite1823 lightning stone1823 lightning tube1824 lightning bone1832 lightning rod1892 1823 W. H. Sykes in Trans. Lit. Soc. Bombay 3 58 The natives call it bijlee puttur (lightning stone), and suppose it possesses the property of preserving the building from being struck by lightning. 1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind viii. 208 The lightning-stones are metals, stones, pebbles, which the fire of the thunder has metamorphosed. 1935 Sci. News Let. 6 July 13/3 A ‘lightning stone’, or fulgurite, 23 feet long, has been placed on display in the geology museum of the University of Chicago. It consists of a hollow tube of rough glass, formed when a stroke of lightning hit a sand dune in the famous Lake Michigan dune area. 1997 Dis.-a-Month Dec. 871 French peasants carry a pierre du tonnerre, or lightning stone, to ward off lightning strikes. 2019 V. Shipman Summer Cottage xviii. 161 We would rush to the beach after every summer thunderstorm hoping to find fulgurite... I..pick up a lightning stone and blow the dust off it, tiny motes filling the air. lightning storm n. a storm accompanied by (much) lightning; a thunderstorm.Quot. 1599 probably shows lightening adj. 1. In quot. 1705 in figurative context. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > lightning > lightning storm firestorm1581 lightning storm1705 1599 R. Allott Wits Theater Little World f. 123 Salmoneus, by lightening of a Torch, did counterfet the thundering sownds & lightning stormes of heauen.] 1705 S. Cobb Honour Retriev'd 7 His Arm, extended, held a Lightning Storm; Not such as Clouds from clashing Vapours form, But such as Heav'nly Wrath is us'd to throw On Human Crimes. 1827 Morning Chron. 1 Aug. Worcester and its environs were visited with one of the most awful lightning storms, with very little thunder, ever experienced. 1991 Westcoast Logger July 14/2 During lightning storms, all work on high-lead and skyline sides must stop because the yarder is an excellent lightning rod. 2009 N.Y. Mag. 28 Sept. 97/1 Games aren't supposed to start this late, but lightning storms have set the event hopelessly behind. lightning train n. U.S. now rare a type of train which travels at very high speeds; cf. lightning express n. ΚΠ 1834 J. P. in Albion (N.Y.) 2 Aug. 241/1 With wild sweep It rolls across the plain, As the loud blast, that o'er the deep Drives on the lightning train. 1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels i. viii. 66 In lightning trains he [sc. the brakeman] is not given to much humor, but the article is in him. 1910 N. Amer. Rev. Sept. 326 All the resources of civilization are drawn upon to bring the champion to the goal—the telegraph, the telephone, lightning trains, newspapers, and so forth. 2004 D. Cadbury Dreams of Iron & Steel (U.S. ed.) p. xiv In 1876, tracks were cleared for the Lightning Train, which raced from coast to coast in just 83 hours. lightning tube n. Geology an elongated or tubular piece of glassy material formed of sand or other sediment fused by lightning; a fulgurite (fulgurite n. 1). [After German Blitzröhre (K. G. Fiedler 1817, in Ann. der Physik 55 121).] ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > formed by lightning fulgurite1823 lightning stone1823 lightning tube1824 lightning bone1832 lightning rod1892 1824 tr. K. G. Fiedler in Chemist 27 Mar. 42/1 I set out, examining the neighbourhood in search of a vitreous-sand, or lightning-tube. 1946 G. W. Stimpson Bk. about Thousand Things 253 Sand hills unprotected by vegetation are constantly shifting and not infrequently petrified lightning tubes are left projecting several feet above the surface. 1996 Atoll Res. Bull. (Smithsonian Inst.) No. 432. 37 These tubes, stacked in sand, often reach the length of several meters... They could not be lightning tubes since the sand kernels are not melted together. C4. Compounds of the adjective. lightning artist n. an artist who paints or draws pictures very quickly, esp. as an entertainment. ΚΠ 1878 Era 29 Dec. 7/4 Mr Montague Scott, the lightning artist, has given several of his sketches between the acts, and has created no little astonishment. 1948 C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident iv. 48 Toppy's sister, the lightning artist, had done particularly well. 2014 Crit. Inq. 40 201/2 Tucker had a reputation as a ‘lightning’ artist who, with either hand, produced remarkably fast and accurate crayon sketches. lightning change n. a rapid change of costume made by an actor or performer; often as a modifier. ΚΠ 1869 N.Y. Herald 11 May 9/5 First appearance of the ‘Lightning Change’ Vocalist, Charles Garmio, who will introduce a series of original Characters, Songs, &c. 1890 Harper's Mag. June 51/2 No more ‘lightning change’ from the sock to the cothurn was ever made in life's drama. 2002 Washington Post 3 Dec. (Final ed.) c5 Actors Scott Barrow and Holly Twyford have to be lightning change artists. lightning chess n. Chess a form of chess in which each player must make a move within a prescribed short interval of time. ΚΠ 1895 Daily Standard Union (Brooklyn) 13 July 12/3 The veteran Bird..was playing some lightning chess with A. Burn. 1951 ‘Assiac’ Adventure in Chess iii. iii. 99 Most proficient at ‘lightning Chess’. 2006 Mt. Druitt–St. Marys Standard (Austral.) (Nexis) 15 Mar. 55 Playing lightning chess, Andrew made his older opponent work hard for victory. lightning player n. Chess a person who plays lightning chess (lightning chess n.). ΚΠ 1873 Westm. Papers Jan. 130 Dr. Hooker..the lightning player, now gives, where he once received, a Castle. 1949 H. Golombek World Chess Championship 1948 24 He is..one of the world's best lightning players. 2016 B. G. Montero Thought in Action xi. 223 [They] occasionally made serious blunders that would not be seen at master-level standard time-control chess, especially against each other and other very strong lightning players. lightning round n. originally U.S. a round in a game show, quiz, etc., in which questions are asked and answered in rapid succession, typically within a limited time period. ΚΠ 1961 Bridgeport (Connecticut) Sunday Post 13 Sept. c13/3 ‘Password’ [is] a new daytime game program testing guest celebrities and persons from the studio audience on their word skills... The winning combination will then enter a 'lightning round', in which both the members will race against the clock to identify ‘passwords’. 1987 N.Y. Times 10 Apr. b1/1 The third round was tight. No one recognized the first line of the Communist Manifesto; no one knew Ringo Starr's real name... In the two-minute lightning round, Great Neck jumped out first with three slam-bang answers. 2021 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Apr. In the lightning round, spellers would have 90 seconds to spell as many words as they can correctly. Derivatives ˈlightning-like adv. and adj. (a) adv. in the manner of lightning; esp. very quickly or suddenly (cf. like lightning at Phrases 2); (b) adj. resembling or reminiscent of lightning; very quick or sudden. ΚΠ 1595 tr. G. de S. Du Bartas First Day of Worldes Creation 8 Who can sustaine the daunting lookes of him, That lightning-like disperseth life and lim? 1613 T. Dekker Strange Horse-race sig. B1^v A Race..after the Roman fashion:..in their thundring velocity, lightning-like violence, and earth-quaking, whorrying. 1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 8 The dim words which obscure thee now Flash, lightning-like, with unaccustomed glow. 1893 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 June 11/1 Some half-dozen wrapper-writers,..each..copying with lightning-like rapidity from a directory page before him. 1981 K. Stein in O. Davies Omni Bk. of Paranormal & Mind vi. xxix. 329 Electrical-wave surges that move, lightninglike, across the brain in minute fractions of a second. 2021 Logistics Managem. Mar. 20/1 The rapid rise of e-commerce, coupled with the lightning-like spread of COVID-19 is certainly not breaking news. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022). lightningv. Brit. /ˈlʌɪtnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: lightning n. Etymology: < lightning n. With sense 2 compare thunder v. 1a. †1. transitive. To convey (a person or thing) at a high speed. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1851 Sharpe's London Jrnl. July 261/2 He is smoothly lightninged over viaducts of surpassing grandeur. 2. intransitive. To flash lightning, to emit flashes of lightning. Chiefly with non-referential it as subject, as in it lightnings, it lightninged, etc. Also figurative.Often in collocation with thunder v. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > emit beams (of a luminary) [verb (intransitive)] > flash lightning laita1225 lightena1398 levina1400 flush-flash1582 fulgurate1677 flash1791 fork1807 streak1849 lightning1861 the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [verb (intransitive)] > lighten laita1225 lightena1398 levina1400 lightning1861 1861 Isle of Wight Observer 26 Oct. We could see the poor fellows overboard when it lightninged. 1885 Mass. Ploughman 22 Aug. If you want to see lightning that's lightning just go out into Western Nebrasky. That's where it lightnings for all that's out. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 8/2 The two metal balls..thundered and lightninged as they delivered the message. 1926 H. Caine in Strand Mag. Jan. 20/1 Mr. Gladstone leapt to his feet, whereupon the air of the House thundered and lightninged for a short ten minutes. 1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. i. 27 You know, when it lightnings, de angels is peepin' in de lookin' glass. 2005 Amer. Poetry Rev. July 39/1 Yesterday was sunny and warm, then a storm struck, it thundered and lightninged, it poured, and the sun came out again. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021). < n.adj.c1300v.1851
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lightningn.adj.

Phrases

Compounds

Derivatives

lightningv.