Luminaria is a noun referring to a traditional Mexican Christmas lantern made with a candle inside a paper bag. The word, meaning "lantern" in Spanish, originated from Latin and has been used in English since the 1930s.
Luminaria es un sustantivo que se refiere a una linterna tradicional mexicana de Navidad hecha con una vela dentro de una bolsa de papel. La palabra, que significa "linterna" en español, se originó en el latín y se usa en inglés desde la década de 1930.
Word | luminaria |
---|---|
Date | December 24, 2019 |
Type | noun |
Syllables | loo-muh-NAIR-ee-uh |
Etymology | Luminaria is a fairly recent addition to English; early usage dates from the 1930s, about the time that the Mexican Christmas custom started to gain popularity among Anglo-Americans. In some parts of the U.S., particularly New Mexico, these festive lanterns are also called farolitos, which means "little lanterns" in Spanish. We borrowed luminaria from Spanish, but the word has been around with exactly the same spelling since the days of Late Latin. The term ultimately traces to the classical Latin luminare, meaning "window," and to lumen, meaning "light." It is related to other light-bearing words such as luminary, illuminate, and phillumenist (a fancy name for someone who collects matchbooks). |
Examples | "Mount Vernon Avenue will be illuminated by thousands of luminarias and feature storefront windows hand-painted for the holidays." — The Alexandria (Virginia) Living Magazine, 9 Nov. 2019 "The simple bag of sand with a candle inside has undergone some upgrades to keep up with the times—some people use fire-resistant bags or battery-powered candles—but the luminaria remains a part of Arizona's holiday tradition." — Weldon B. Johnson, The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic, 3 Dec. 2018 |
Definition | : a traditional Mexican Christmas lantern originally consisting of a candle set in sand inside a paper bag |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
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