Word of the Day

Thursday July 29, 2010

luminary [LOO-muh-nair-ee]

noun

Any body that gives light, especially one of the heavenly bodies.
A person who has attained eminence or brilliant achievement.

Opting for mechanical and practical prosthetics and puppets, the visual-effects team -- led by Hollywood luminary Lee Romaire -- felt digital had its place in production, but there's something about three-dimensional objects in space that can't be faked.

Katherine Monk, "It's a dog's life -- and a cat's life, too", The Vancouver Sun, Jul 24, 2010
But it's also a restaurant that just happens to serve some heavenly guacamole. You can thank Carolyn Farb for that. Mo's appetizer menu includes the "Carolyn Farb Guacamole," which executive chef Eric Aldis said was put on the menu after the Houston social luminary continued to ask for the avocado mash even though the restaurant didn't serve it.

Greg Marogo, "Good food More than cups of joe served here Minuti Coffee is aiming to be your neighborhood hangout", Houston Chronicle, Jul 4, 2010
As the earth cut in slowly and gradually toward the solar luminary, so was the moon revolving ever nearer the earth, appearing like a great gem glowing in the twilight sky.

Neil Ronald Jones (1909 - 1988) An American science fiction author. The Jameson Satellite(1931)

Origin of the Word

Luminary, approximately 1450, derives from Middle French luminarie "lamp, light," from Late Latin luminare "light, torch, lamp, heavenly body," literally "that which gives light," from Latin lumen "light."