luminary C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈlumɪˌnɛri/ UK /ˈluːmɪnəri/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a person of prominence or brilliance in a field; a celestial light The conference drew luminaries from across the sciences. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a person of prominence or... leadercelebritynotabledignitarystarauthorityexpert ↔ Opposites nobodynonentity Word family Related forms luminousluminescenceilluminatelumen Etymology AI details From Latin luminare ('lamp, heavenly body'), from lumen ('light'), from lucere ('to shine'), ultimately from lux ('light'). luminare Latin lumen Latin *lewk- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # luminary **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈlumɪˌnɛri/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈluːmɪnəri/ ## Meanings 1. a person of prominence or brilliance in a field; a celestial light ## Examples - The conference drew luminaries from across the sciences. ## Synonyms - leader - celebrity - notable - dignitary - star - authority - expert ## Antonyms - nobody - nonentity ## Related Forms - luminous - luminescence - illuminate - lumen ## Roots and Affixes - Root: luminare - Root: lumen - Root: *lewk- ## Etymology From Latin luminare ('lamp, heavenly body'), from lumen ('light'), from lucere ('to shine'), ultimately from lux ('light'). ## AI Etymology Luminary comes from Latin luminare ('lamp, heavenly body'), from lumen ('light'), from lucere ('to shine'), ultimately from lux ('light'). The etymological trail includes Latin luminare, Latin lumen, Proto-Indo-European *lewk-. The same word family includes luminous, luminescence, illuminate, lumen. Its current noun use means "a person of prominence or brilliance in a field; a celestial light". ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown