Lamps

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /læmps/

Definitions

1. Devices that emit light to brighten an area by converting electricity into illumination
2. Fixtures used in homes or businesses to serve as sources of light through electric bulbs or similar components
3. Objects designed to produce light for visibility in indoor or outdoor spaces by means of electricity ; devices serving as sources of illumination in various environments, often used for decoration or practical lighting

Etymology: "Lamps" is simply the plural of "lamp," so the story belongs to the singular. Its ancestor was a Greek word for a torch, and the core sense of burning light has survived intact for about two and a half thousand years. The Greek "lampas" meant a torch or beacon, and it came from a verb meaning "to shine." Latin borrowed it as "lampas," which kept the sense of a torch or light, and Old French later turned it into "lampe." Middle English took the word from there as "laumpe" or "lampe," and it settled into the English that followed. What makes the path notable is that English already had its own word for the thing. The native Old English term was "lēohtfæt," literally "light-vat," a vessel for holding light. The imported word pushed it out of use, so a Greek torch-word ended up naming the household fixture that the old English compound once described.

Synonyms: lights, fixtures, illuminators, devices, beacons