Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Lights in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels lights as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Lights

[So called from their lightness.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordlights
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[So called from their lightness.]
Selected historical definitionThe lungs of an animal or bird; -- sometimes coarsely applied to the lungs of a human being.
Signed record IDwebster1913-lights-noun-eb54765a32c5
Source locatorCIDE.L, paragraph 4198; Gutenberg eBook 664
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 664Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "lights" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[So called from their lightness.]" The selected historical definition says: "The lungs of an animal or bird; -- sometimes coarsely applied to the lungs of a human being."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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adjective

Last

[OE. last, latst, contr. of latest, superl. of late; akin to OS. lezt, lazt, last, D. laatst, G. letzt. See Late, and cf. Latest.]

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Live

[Abbreviated from alive. See Alive, Life.]

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Local

[L. localis, fr. locus place: cf. F. local. See Lieu, Locus.]

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Large

[F., fr. L. largus. Cf. Largo.]

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Lost

[Prop. p. p. of OE. losien. See Lose, v. t.]

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