luminary Hear it!

luminary Definition

lu·mi·nary (lo̵̅o̅′mə ner′ē)

noun pl. -·nar′·ies

  1. a body that gives off light, such as the sun or moon
    1. a person who sheds light on some subject or enlightens mankind; famous intellectual
    2. any famous or well-known person

Etymology: OFr luminarie < LL(Ec) luminarium < L luminare: see illuminate

luminary Synonyms

luminary

n.

  1. A light

    star, lamp, radiance; see light 3.

  2. A philosopher

    teacher, prophet, notable; see intellectual, personage 2.

luminary Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • include: A first meeting there, somewhat earlier, attracted 100 or so people, including many sf luminaries.
  • feature: I break into a cold sweat at the thought of yet another self-indulgent love in featuring the luminaries of the small screen.
  • attract: Even as a snooker hall in the Eighties and Nineties, Bush Hall attracted luminaries such as Hugh Grant and Stephen Fry.
  • produce: Heat producing luminaries should be installed sufficiently clear of combustible materials to avoid the risk of fire.

Converse of subject

make: No lava, but a lamp made by light luminaries Mathmos nonetheless.

Adjective modifier

  • literary: He is in the company of literary luminaries of the past.
  • such: He seemed delighted to learn that he was among such luminaries.
  • musical: Peter Blake continues to create landmark artworks for albums by such musical luminaries as Eric Clapton and Brian Wilson.
  • leading: Said in announcing the leading luminaries by the alderney fans may log.
  • various: The lectures were given by various luminaries both in the field of iridology and in complementary healthcare.
  • other: I was looking forward to seeing her perform with the other luminaries, who are all great talents in their own right.

Modifies a noun

nun: Symbols The first aspect I am going to look at is the symbols used by Luminary nuns.

Noun used with modifier

  • jazz: During this period he played with a number of free jazz luminaries, including Sun Ra, Don Cherry, and Billy Higgins.
  • industry: To be honest, the continued success of the Commodore 64 has taken a lot of industry luminaries totally by surprise.
  • film: His earliest work dates from the 1950s when he captured on film bluegrass luminaries on stage at outdoor concerts.
  • music: The renowned wall mural features such music luminaries as Marley, Springsteen, Zappa and Dylan.
  • pop: Supporting H Bird on the 18th will be a veritable pick'n'mix of underground pop luminaries, performing short sets in a pseudo cabaret formation.
  • design: While the votes were being counted, design luminary Michael Wolff and keynote speaker at the event praised the teams.

Preposition: in

field: The Research Society Conference in Exeter in 2002 was attended by a number of luminaries in the field of research policy.

Preposition: from

world: Often you may find yourself sitting next to screen or jet set stars or other luminaries from the world of culture.