Light"man (-mn), n.; pl. -men (-mn). A man who carries or takes care of
a light. T. Brown.
Light"-mind`ed (-mnd`d), a. Unsettled; unsteady; volatile; not
considerate. -- Light"-mind`ed*ness, n.
Light"ness, n. [From Light not heavy.] The state, condition, or
quality, of being light or not heavy; buoyancy; levity; fickleness;
nimbleness; delicacy; grace.
Syn. -- Levity; volatility; instability; inconstancy; unsteadiness;
giddiness; flightiness; airiness; gayety; liveliness; agility;
nimbleness; sprightliness; briskness; swiftness; ease; facility.
Light"ness, n. [From Light bright.] 1. Illumination, or degree of
illumination; as, the lightness of a room. Chaucer.
2. Absence of depth or of duskiness in color; as, the lightness of a
tint; lightness of complexion.
Light"ning (lt"nng), n. [For lightening, fr. lighten to flash.] 1. A
discharge of atmospheric electricity, accompanied by a vivid flash of
light, commonly from one cloud to another, sometimes from a cloud to
the earth. The sound produced by the electricity in passing rapidly
through the atmosphere constitutes thunder.
2. The act of making bright, or the state of being made bright;
enlightenment; brightening, as of the mental powers. [R.]
Ball lightning, a rare form of lightning sometimes seen as a globe of
fire moving from the clouds to the earth. -- Chain lightning, lightning
in angular, zigzag, or forked flashes. -- Heat lightning, more or less
vivid and extensive flashes of electric light, without thunder, seen
near the horizon, esp. at the close of a hot day. -- Lightning arrester
(Telegraphy), a device, at the place where a wire enters a building,
for preventing injury by lightning to an operator or instrument. It
consists of a short circuit to the ground interrupted by a thin
nonconductor over which lightning jumps. Called also lightning
discharger. -- Lightning bug (Zoöl.), a luminous beetle. See Firefly.
-- Lightning conductor, a lightning rod. - - Lightning glance, a quick,
penetrating glance of a brilliant eye. -- Lightning rod, a metallic rod
set up on a building, or on the mast of a vessel, and connected with
the earth or water below, for the purpose of protecting the building or
vessel from lightning. -- Sheet lightning, a diffused glow of electric
light flashing out from the clouds, and illumining their outlines. The
appearance is sometimes due to the reflection of light from distant
flashes of lightning by the nearer clouds.