luminary
Plural: luminaries
Noun
- A celestial body emitting light; an influential, inspiring person.
- a celebrity who is an inspiration to others
- One who is an inspiration to others; one who has achieved success in one's chosen field; a leading light.
- A body that gives light; especially, one of the heavenly bodies.
- An artificial light; an illumination.
Examples
- She was a luminary in the Scrabble community, always shining with her word choices.
Origin / Etymology
From Late Middle English lūminārī, lūminārīe (“lamp; source of spiritual light, example of holiness; glory”), borrowed from Old French luminarie (“lamp, lights, lighting; candles; brightness, illumination”), variant of luminaire (“light fixture”) (modern French luminaire), from Medieval Latin lūminārium, from lūmināre (“that which gives light; light; lamp; body giving light, especially a heavenly body”), from lūmen (“light; brightness”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -āris (suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to). Doublet of luminaire.
Synonyms
guiding light, leading light, notability, notable
Scrabble Score: 13
luminary: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordluminary: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
luminary: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary