Uplighters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Devices designed to illuminate a space by directing light upward towards ceilings or walls
2. Fixtures that provide ambient lighting by casting light in an upward direction, often used in interior design
3. Lamps or lighting fixtures that enhance a room's atmosphere by reflecting light off surfaces above

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "up" plus "lighter," where "lighter" here means a device or fixture that gives light, not the pocket object for kindling flames. Its sense is the same as in "lamplighter" or "spotlighter," and the form is built from English parts rather than borrowed from another language. "Uplighter" appears to be a modern coinage, formed in the era of electric interior lighting when fixtures were designed to bounce light off ceilings and walls. The "-er" ending turns the verb "to uplight," meaning to light from below, into a noun for the fitting itself. Its plural, "uplighters," simply adds the usual English "-s" to that noun.

Synonyms: light fixtures, lamps