lamp

[lamp]
noun
1.
any of various devices furnishing artificial light, as by electricity or gas. Compare fluorescent lamp, incandescent lamp.
2.
a container for an inflammable liquid, as oil, which is burned at a wick as a means of illumination.
3.
a source of intellectual or spiritual light: the lamp of learning.
4.
any of various devices furnishing heat, ultraviolet, or other radiation: an infrared lamp.
5.
a celestial body that gives off light, as the moon or a star.
6.
a torch.
7.
lamps, Slang. the eyes.
verb (used with object)
8.
Slang. to look at; eye.
00:10
Lamp is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
chat, to converse
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Idioms
9.
smell of the lamp, to give evidence of laborious study or effort: His dissertation smells of the lamp.
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English lampe < Old French < Late Latin lampada, for Latin lampas (stem lampad-) < Greek lampás lamp; akin to lámpē torch, lamp, lámpein to shine

Related forms
lamp·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To lamp
Collins
World English Dictionary
lamp (læmp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a.  any of a number of devices that produce illumination: an electric lamp; a gas lamp; an oil lamp
 b.  (in combination): lampshade
2.  a device for holding one or more electric light bulbs: a table lamp
3.  a vessel in which a liquid fuel is burned to supply illumination
4.  any of a variety of devices that produce radiation, esp for therapeutic purposes: an ultraviolet lamp
 
[C13 lampe, via Old French from Latin lampas, from Greek, from lampein to shine]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lamp
c.1200, from O.Fr. lampe (12c.), from L. lampas, from Gk. lampas "torch, lamp, beacon, meteor, light," from lampein "to shine," from PIE base *lap- "to shine" (cf. Lith. lope "light," O.Ir. lassar "flame"). Replaced O.E. leohtfæt "light vessel." Lamp-black (1598) is a pigment made from pure, fine
carbon, originally from the soot produced by burning oil in lamps.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

lamp (lāmp)
n.
A device that generates light, heat, or therapeutic radiation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

lamp definition


  1. tv.
    to look at someone or something. (The “lamps” are the eyes.) : Here, lamp this tire for a minute. It's low isn't it?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Lamp definition


(1.) That part of the candle-sticks of the tabernacle and the temple which bore the light (Ex. 25:37; 1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chr. 4:20; 13:11; Zech. 4:2). Their form is not described. Olive oil was generally burned in them (Ex. 27:20). (2.) A torch carried by the soliders of Gideon (Judg. 7:16, 20). (R.V., "torches.") (3.) Domestic lamps (A.V., "candles") were in common use among the Hebrews (Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21, etc.). (4.) Lamps or torches were used in connection with marriage ceremonies (Matt. 25:1). This word is also frequently metaphorically used to denote life, welfare, guidance, etc. (2 Sam. 21:17; Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23; 13:9).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

lamp

a device for producing illumination, consisting originally of a vessel containing a wick soaked in combustible material, and subsequently such other light-producing instruments as gas and electric lamps.

Learn more about lamp with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
At the same moment the carriage began to move, and a gas-lamp at the head of the slip flashed its light into the window.
By the glow of a small carbide lamp one could distinguish a dozen human figures
  gathered around three or four tables.
Imagine a long straight lane with lamp posts next to it, each of the same
  height.
Until then, scientists had equated sleep with flicking off a desk lamp.
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriHome Advisor
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
About PRIVACY POLICY Terms API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Suggest a Word Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT