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Luminary

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lu⋅mi⋅nar⋅y

[loo-muh-ner-ee] noun, plural -nar⋅ies, adjective
–noun
1. a celestial body, as the sun or moon.
2. a body, object, etc., that gives light.
3. a person who has attained eminence in his or her field or is an inspiration to others: one of the luminaries in the field of medical science.
–adjective
4. of, pertaining to, or characterized by light.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME luminarye < ML lūmināria lamp. See luminaria
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lu·mi·nar·y   (lōō'mə-něr'ē)   
n.   pl. lu·mi·nar·ies
  1. An object, such as a celestial body, that gives light.

  2. A person who is an inspiration to others.

  3. A person who has achieved eminence in a specific field. See Synonyms at celebrity.


[Middle English, from Old French luminarie, from Latin lūmināre, to shine, from lūmen, lūmin-, light; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]
lu'mi·nar'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

luminary 
c.1450, "source of (artificial) light," from M.Fr. luminarie "lamp, light," from L.L. luminare "light, torch, lamp, heavenly body," lit. "that which gives light," from L. lumen (gen. luminis) "light." Sense of "notable person" is first recorded 1692. Luminescence is from 1896. Luminosity in astronomy sense of "intrinsic brightness of a heavenly body" (as distinguished from apparent magnitude, which diminishes with distance), is attested from 1906.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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