shiningn.
/ˈʃʌɪnɪŋ/ a. The action of shine v.; emission or shedding of light; gleaming, beaming.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > [noun] > shining or being luminous
shininga1300
lighteninga1382
lucencec1485
overshining1587
emication1633
luminosity1634
outshining1648
luminousness1668
fulsion1680
affulsion1730
raying1787
lumination1794
nebulosity1813
lustrousness1839
luminance1880
a1300 E.E. Psalter cix. 3 In schinenges of haliyhes bright [L. in splendoribus sanctorum].
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum viii. xli. (Tollem. MS.) Schinynge is out spryngynge and stremynge oute of þe substaunce of lyȝte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 23688 Þe schene schining of cristal.
a1400 K. Alis. (Bodl.) 641 Þe erþe shook, þe see bycom grene, Þe sonne wiþdrouȝ shynyng shene.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxvi. 339 The moyn and starnes of shynyng blan.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 919 For chynyng of the chene stone he shont with his hede.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. vii. sig. Mm1v He..might spie sometimes..the shining of armour, like flashing of lightning.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 560 Grashoppers doe..come in such quantitie that they intercept the shining of the Sunne like a Cloud.
1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iii. iii I've seen with shining fair the morning rise.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. v. 112 Harry could see the shining of a steel breastplate he had on.
1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna, & Other Poems 165 With joy the stars perform their shining.
1905 F. Young Sands of Pleasure ii. viii The cold, alert shining of her eyes.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) iii. pr. ii. 67 Yif that dignitees lesen hir shyninge by chaunginge of tymes.
1430–40 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes (1544) i. vii. 10 b Whan his shining was waxt vp to ye ful After the chaunge of fortunes lawe His glorye gan discrecen.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. vi. sig. R7 Men of vertue suppressed, lest their shining should discouer the others filthines.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. ii. sig. Kk1 Our trust is, that you yet will not denie the shining of your eies vpon vs.
1656 Disc. Auxiliary Beauty 129 All their Oratorious polishings and shinings are but false beames.
1718 D. Defoe Family Instructor II. i. i. 6 We are but as dark as we were before; for we were none of us the better for all your Hypocritical Shining.
a1778 Toplady in Bk. Praise (1866) 446 The shinings of His grace Soften my passage through the wilderness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
shiningadj.
/ˈʃʌɪnɪŋ/ 1.
a. That shines; luminous, lustrous, gleaming, beaming; also, of bright or brilliant aspect or exterior; resplendent in dress or equipment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > [adjective] > shining or luminous
shininga900
outshininga1382
lightsome1440
luminous1471
luciferous1656
elucid1660
enlightening1791
the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [adjective] > bright
shininga900
lighteOE
lightlyOE
sheenOE
torhtOE
shirea1000
steepa1000
shimmeringc1000
brightOE
strongOE
clear1297
fair?a1300
bright-shininga1387
merrya1393
skirea1400
lucident14..
shimc1400
staringc1400
luculentc1420
splendent1474
illuminousc1485
lucentc1500
bloominga1522
sheer1565
prelucent1568
faculent1575
splendant1578
lucid1591
neat1591
shine1596
translucent1596
well-lighted1606
nitid1615
lucible1623
dilucid1653
translucid1657
hard1660
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > splendour > [adjective] > radiant
shininga900
gladOE
steepa1000
lightsomea1382
freshlyc1426
prefulgentc1480
flagrant?a1500
radiant1509
glazed?1510
refulgent1528
bright-headeda1560
shone1595
tinsel1595
skinkling1790
epiphanous1823
foudroyant1860
a900 Old Eng. Martyrol. 22 Nov. 208 Þa stod se engel big hyre myd scynendum fyðerum.
c1050 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 431/23 Limpidis, scinendum.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 166 Demonium meridianum. þet is bricht schinide [read schininde] deouel.
c1275 Serving Christ 18 in Old Eng. Misc. 91 In schynynde wede.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Lament. iv. 7 Whitere is Nazareis than snoȝ, shynendere [a1425 L.V. schynyngere] than mylc.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. xxi. 215 Þai war iijc and vj knichtis in schynyng armoure.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. v. f. 14v The cleir schenand sonne.
?1566 J. Phillip Commodye Pacient & Meeke Grissill sig. D.iiv I nether haue faire Helins shape, nor comly shininge hew.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 561 Bot I the knew, that is sa schynand.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §352 Shining woods, being laid in a Dry Roome,..lose their Shining.
1665 R. Howard & J. Dryden Indian-queen ii, in R. Howard Four New Plays 151 Showres sometimes fall upon a shining day.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 401 Fish..with thir Finns and shining Scales. View more context for this quotation
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 311 Tiles..of a deep shining black.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xiii. 377 A bag of shining leather filled with pearls.
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. III. 183 A bright shining house-maid.
1845 J. Kitto Cycl. Biblical Lit. I. at Egypt The climate is..exceedingly hot; the atmosphere clear and shining.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. iii. 42 That busy shining scene of the Thames swarming with boats and barges.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. ix. 192 On a shining chestnut horse.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 21 All covered with shining snow.
b. as an epithet of coin. †shining clay, gold.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > precious metal > [noun] > gold
goldeOE
reda1393
metal1600
solar metala1657
shining clay1668
yellow1858
1668 Bp. E. Hopkins Van. World in Wks. (1710) 5 What are Gold and Silver, but diversified Earth, hard and shining Clay?
1677 A. Horneck Great Law Consideration (1704) v. 306 The tears I shed, for being deprived of a little shining clay.
1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires ii. iii. 203 From out his Bags he pours the shining Store.
c. Natural History, etc. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > reflection > [adjective] > lustrous or shining with reflected light
browna1000
brightOE
cleara1300
slighta1300
burnedc1384
burnishedc1400
orientc1400
orientalc1450
sheeningc1480
refulgenta1500
silken1513
lustrantc1550
glossy1556
crisp1567
lustring1582
shiny1590
of shine1601
glossful1606
lustry1610
lustrousa1616
nitent1616
illustriousa1626
polished1649
lustrious1651
sheeny1673
shining1674
splendy1683
glazy1724
smolt1837
lustreful1843
lustred1858
sheened1920
the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > colour or texture > [adjective] > smooth or reflective
shining1674
silver-cupped1688
1674 M. Lister Let. 7 Jan. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1975) X. 426 This Bitumen is very inflamable like Resin; it is very light; it brakes firme & shining like good Aloes, & for colour is not much unlike it.
1792 W. Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 399 Pileus brown, shining, glutinous.
1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. L7v Lucidum folium bright, shining.
1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) iii. 471 Shining (nitidus); having a smooth, even, polished surface; as many leaves.
1850 D. T. Ansted Elem. Course Geol. §310 The degrees of intensity [sc. of lustre] are denominated as follows:—..Shining, when an image is produced, but not a well-defined image. Ex., Calcareous spar, Celestine.
1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 109 Lobes ascending, glabrous and shining.
d. Hence as specific name of animals and plants (rendering Latin lucidus, lucens, splendidus, etc.). shining cuckoo n. a copper-coloured cuckoo, Chalcites lucidus, found in New Zealand and other parts of the Pacific.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [adjective] > shining
shining1626
the world > plants > appearance of plant > plant defined by colour or marking > [adjective] > shining
shining1626
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Cuculiformes (cuckoos, etc.) > [noun] > family Cuculidae > genus Chrysococcyx
shining cuckoo1888
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §475 The Shining Willow, which they call Swallow-Taile.
1771 J. R. Forster Flora Amer. Septentrionalis 7 Potamogeton lucens. Pondweed, shining.
1782 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. ii. 528 Shining C[uckow]..Size of a small Thrush..inhabits New Zealand.
1783 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds II. 56 Shining Thrush, Turdus nitens.
1784 J. Cullum Hist. & Antiq. Hawsted in Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica No. 23. App. 232 Shining Dove's-foot cranesbill (Geranium lucidum) in hedges.
1809 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VII. 372 Coppery-green shining Crow.
1865 Intell. Obs. VII. 102 The male Satin or Shining Bower Bird.
1888 W. Buller Birds N.Z. (ed. 2) I. 133 A peculiar whistling cry..announces the arrival in our country of the shining cuckoo.
1965 F. Sargeson Mem. Peon vi. 155 It was..something like the call of the shining cuckoo, a sound just in the air.
2. Phrases.
a. shining light n. (after John v. 35): a person conspicuous for some excellence.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person
gemc1275
blooma1300
excellence1447
mirrorc1450
man of mena1470
treasure?1545
paragon1548
shining light1563
Apollo's swan?1592
man of wax1597
rara avis1607
Titan1611
choice spirita1616
excellency1725
inestimable1728
inimitable1751
cock of the walk1781
surpasser1805
shiner1810
swell1816
trump1819
tip-topper1822
star1829
beauty1832
soarer1895
trumph1895
pansy1899
Renaissance man1906
exemplum virtutis1914
museum piece1920
superman1925
flyer1930
pistol1935
all-star1949
1526 Bible (Tyndale) John v. f. cxxvjv He was a brurnynge and a shynynge light.]
1563 N. Winȝet tr. St. Vincent of Lérins For Antiq. Catholike Fayth ix, in Certain Tractates (1890) II. 27 That schyning licht of al the sanctis,..maist blissit Cypriane.
a1791 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 75 A burning and a shining light To a' this place.
1869 A. Trollope He knew he was Right I. xviii. 140 Her aunt was regarded as a shining light by very many good people in the county.
1887 Field 19 Nov. 790/1 In the opening part of the game, Stadden, Robertshaw, and Brooke had been the shining lights.
b. to improve the shining hour (after Watts, see quot. 1720): to make good use of time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > be in use or called into use [verb (intransitive)] > make good use of time
to improve the shining hour1720
1720 I. Watts Divine & Moral Songs xx How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour!
1866 A. Thomas Walter Goring ii Though he had been seeming to improve the shining hours very much to his own satisfaction.
c. shining armour n. (see quot. 1533 at sense 1a under 1a, and knight in shining armour n. at knight n. 4e) (frequently ironic): a sign of preparedness to fight nobly in a good cause, esp. in defence of the weak.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > [noun] > supporting or encouraging > specifically a cause, principle, etc. > means of
artillery1592
shining armour1910
1910 Times 22 Sept. 5/1 The action of an ally in taking his stand in shining armour at a grave moment by the side of your most gracious Sovereign.
1913 S. Shaw William of Germany xi. 249 The Emperor's soldiers and his Dreadnoughts, his mailed fist and shining armour, are built and put on in the spirit of precaution and defence.
1919 G. B. Shaw Inca of Perusalem 220 What other defence have we poor common people against your shining armor, your mailed fist, your pomp and parade?
1940 E. F. Benson Final Edition xiii. 268 His Field Marshalls took his sabre-rattlings and his stupendous announcements that he was the chosen instrument of the Lord of Hosts at their face value,..and made him keep polishing up the shining armour which he had donned for his secret reassurance.
1960 J. Stroud Shorn Lamb xxii. 242 When I first came galloping out of the University, in shining armour..it was To the Rescue of the Deprived Child.
1968 ‘M. Underwood’ Man who killed too Soon vi. 61 I could tempt him to don his shining armour and try a rescue operation.
3. With reference to intellectual or moral qualities: Eminent, distinguished, brilliant. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > specifically of intellect or morals
shiningc900
beauteousa1450
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iii. xix. 210 Se wæs in wordum & dædum beorht & scinende.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. xxxvii. 69 Þe vertu of þy shynynge lyf shal be..gladyd þerby.
c1410 T. Hoccleve Mother of God 101 Seint Ion Shynynge apostle & euangelist.
1513 Life Henry V (1911) 7 The life and shyninge Acts of this most victorious Kinge.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 173 The siluer streaming fountaines of flowingest witt, and shiningest Art.
c1665 L. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1973) To Children 10 Nor was his soule lesse shining in honor than in love.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 73. ∂4 Men of the greatest and the most shining Parts.
a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. i. 437 One that endeavoured rather to be agreeable than shining in conversation.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxix. 154 Charles duke of Bourbon..was a prince of the most shining merit.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 560 Anticipated rents, and bills unpaid, Force many a shining youth into the shade.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 299 [His] most shining quality was courage in the field of battle.
1881 M. Raleigh Alex. Raleigh i. 7 [He] was regarded as a boy of good but not shining ability.
4. Of looks: Radiant, beaming.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective] > cheerful-looking > expressing cheerfulness (of looks)
merryc1225
smicker1589
smiling1725
shining1821
shiny1876
1821 C. Lamb in London Mag. June 613/1 A..shining sanguine face.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. xiii. 311 Greeting him with one of her shining looks.
5. In combinations.
ΚΠ
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. 464 Shining-black Snake.
1822 S. Clarke Hortus Anglicus II. 120 Shining-leaved Fig Wort.
1887 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 104 Raced With, along them, cragiron under and cold furls—With-a-fountain's shining-shot furls.
1895 K. Meyer tr. Voy. Bran I. App. 71 A red-eared shining-white cow.
1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow ii. 52 Sometimes, all shining-eyed, she was back at her own home.
1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War I. 289 Everything was as shining-new as death.
Draft additions 1993
d. Shining Path [translating Spanish Sendero Luminoso] = Sendero Luminoso n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > Central and South American politics > [noun] > specific Peruvian party or movement
Apra1935
Aprismo1935
Sendero Luminoso1981
Shining Path1982
SL1986
1981 Washington Post 21 Sept. a17/4 The only political group to have been singled out in the assaults is an apparently tiny Maoist organization called Sendero Luminoso, which means ‘shining path’.]
1982 N.Y. Times 9 Sept. a2/3 Shining Path has almost no support nationally, being roundly condemned even by Peru's many Communist parties.
1984 Guardian Weekly 11 Mar. 11 11 Peruvian regions..where a state of emergency had been declared because of the revolutionary activities of the (Maoist) Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) movement.
1986 Independent 7 Oct. 9/2 The curfew is..to prevent sabotage..by the increasingly active Maoist ‘Shining Path’.
1988 New Yorker 4 Jan. 31/1 It was there [i.e. in Ayacucho] that Sendero Luminoso, the Shining Path, which is one of the most ruthless and secretive movements in Latin-American history, came into being.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1300
adj.a900