alight
Meanings
- To make less heavy; to lighten; to alleviate, to relieve.
- Often followed by from or off: to get off an animal which one has been riding; to dismount; to descend or exit from a vehicle; hence, to complete one's journey; to stop.
- Often followed by at, on, or upon: of something aloft: to descend and settle; to land, to lodge, to rest.
- To come down or go down; to descend.
- Often followed by on or upon: of a blow, something thrown, etc.: to land heavily.
- Often followed by on or upon: to find by accident; to chance upon, to come upon.
- To arrive.
- To cast light on (something); to illuminate, to light up.
- To set light to (something); to set (something) on fire; to ignite, to light.
- Burning, lit, on fire.
- Often followed by with: shining with light; luminous, radiant; also, brightly coloured; vivid.
- Of an electrical light source: switched on and emitting light.
- Aglow with activity or emotion.
- Chiefly in set alight: in flames, on fire; aflame.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English alighten (“to descend from a place: to dismount, get off; to descend to a place: to arrive or stop (at a place); to land; to drop; to attack; of lightning: to strike; to leap on to, mount; to descend in rank; to cause (someone) to lose rank; to come forth, spring from; to alleviate, relieve; (Christianity) of Jesus: to come down to earth from heaven, become incarnate; to descend (to hell); of the Holy Spirit, angels, miracles, etc.: to descend (from heaven); to descend (upon someone); to appear in a place”) [and other forms], from a merger of: * Old English ālīhtan (“to alight, dismount”), from ā- (prefix meaning ‘away, from, off, out’) + līhtan, līehtan (“to descend, alight, light; to make easy or light, alleviate, lighten, relieve”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“not heavy, light”); and * Old English ġelīhtan (“to descend; to come down, dismount; to make easy or light, alleviate, lighten, relieve”), from ġe- (intensifying prefix, attached to verbs to indicate completeness or perfection) + līhtan, līehtan (see above). The English word is analyzable as a- (prefix meaning ‘away, from, off, out’) + light (“to ease, lighten; to take off; to unload; to dismount; (archaic) to come down, land; to dismount”). Cognates * Middle Low German erlichten (“to lighten”) * Old High German gilīhten (“to make less heavy, lighten”) (Middle High German gelīhten); Old High German irlīhten (“to alleviate”) (Middle High German erlīhten, modern German erleichten)