| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| luster |
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| SYLLABICATION: | lus·ter |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  l s t r |
| NOUN: | 1. Soft reflected light; sheen. 2. Brilliance or radiance of light; brightness. 3. Glory, radiance, distinction, or splendor, as of achievement, reputation, or beauty. 4. A glass pendant, especially on a chandelier. 5. A decorative object, such as a chandelier, that gives off light. 6. Any of various substances, such as wax or glaze, used to give an object a gloss or polish. 7. The surface glossiness of ceramic ware after glazing, especially the metallic sheen of lusterware. 8. A fabric, such as alpaca, having a glossy surface. 9. The appearance of a mineral surface judged by its brilliance and ability to reflect light. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: lus·tered, lus·ter·ing, lus·ters
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To give a gloss, glaze, or sheen to. 2. To give or add glory, radiance, distinction, or splendor to. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To be or become lustrous. | | ETYMOLOGY: | French lustre, from Old French, from Old Italian lustro, from lustrare, to make bright, from Latin l str re, from lstrum, purification. See leuk- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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