LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

lūx

lūx f (genitive lūcis)
Classical[ˈɫuːks]Ecclesiastical[ˈluks]
№ 299 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. light (of the sun, stars etc.)
    dīxitque Deus fīat lūx et facta est lūxAnd God said: Let there be light. And there was light.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Genesis.1.3
  2. metonymicallythe Sun
    aut ubi fessa iugis, dulcesque altissima somnos lux monet2004 translation by D. R. Shackleton Bailey or when she is weary from the mountains and the sun at his zenith counsels sweet slumber (literally, “or when wearied from the mountains, the highest light [of the sun] advises sweet slumber”)c. 45 CE – 96 CE, Statius, Thebais 4.431–432
  3. daylight, day, moonlight
    prīmā lūceat daybreak
    ad lūcemat dawn
  4. life
  5. figurativelypublic view
  6. glory, encouragement
  7. enlightenment, explanation
  8. splendour
  9. eyesight, the eyes, luminary

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod ā sōle et igne venit et vidēre sinit; prīmā lūce = māne.
lūx lūcis f — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Lumen · Lux

Lumen (λευσσόμενον) is a luminous body, like φέγγος; lux (λευκή) a streaming mass of light, like φάος. Cic. Fin. iii. 14, 45. Ut obscuratur et offunditur luce solis lumen lucernæ. Curt. viii. 2, 21. Sed aditus specus accipit lucem; interiora nisi allato lumine obscura sunt. Cic. Acad. iv. 8, 28. Si ista vera sunt, ratio omnis tollitur quasi quædam lux lumenque vitæ; that is, reason alone is in itself bright and light, and at the same time spreads brightness and light over life. Also, in a figurative sense, lumen denotes distinction, lux only clearness. Cicero (Man. 5.) calls Corinth, Græciæ totius lumen, but Rome (Catil. iv. 6.) Lucem orbis terrarum; Corinth is compared to a glimmering point of light; Rome is distinguished as that city in comparison with which all other cities lie in darkness. (ii. 66.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativelūxlūcēs
genitivelūcislūcum
dativelūcīlūcibus
accusativelūcemlūcēs
ablativelūce
lūcī		lūcibus
vocativelūxlūcēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

ante lucem
before daybreak.
prima luce
at daybreak.
luce (luci)
in full daylight.
in lucem edi
to see the light, come into the world.
in lucem dormire
to sleep on into the morning.
forensi luce carere
to shun publicity.
vita or hac luce frui
to enjoy the privilege of living; to be alive.
multus dies or multa lux est
the day is already far advanced.
3 more phrases
hoc est luce (sole ipso) clarius
this is as clear as daylight.
ei, propter quos hanc lucem aspeximus
those to whom we owe our being.
publico carere, forum ac lucem fugere
to shun publicity.

lux, lūcis (adverb. abl. luce, luci, and lucu, and in these old forms also used as m.;
I. v. infra; in Plaut. lux is usually m.; Brix ad Plaut. Capt. 5, 4, 11), f. luceo, light.
I. Lit.
1. In gen., the light of the sun and other heavenly bodies: cum id solis luce videatur clarius, Cic. Div. 1, 3, 6; id. Tusc. 1, 37, 90; id. Cat. 1, 3; id. Cael. 9: per umbras Stella facem ducens multā cum luce cucurrit, Verg. A. 2, 694: a lucifero donec lux occidat, till sunset, Juv, 13, 158. —The light, splendor, brightness of shining bodies: viridi cum luce zmaragdi, Lucr. 4, 1126: luce coruscus ahenā, Verg. A. 2, 470: lucem non fundentes gemmae, Plin. 37, 7, 25, § 94: ferri, Stat. Th. 8, 124.—
2. In partic., the light of day, daylight, day: diurna, Lucr. 6, 848: Metellus cum primā luce in campum currebat, Cic. Att. 4, 3, 4: ante lucem, id. de Or. 2, 64, 259: primā luce ad eum accurrit, at daybreak, dawn of day, Caes. B. G. 1, 22: luce sub ipsā, on the very verge of day, Verg. G. 4, 490: in luci, by day, Lucr. 4, 233: luce reversā, Juv. 6, 312.—Hence,
b. In abl. adverb.: luce, luci, and (ante-class.) lucu, by daylight, in the daytime: ut luce palam in foro saltet, Cic. Off. 3, 24, 93; so, luce, id. Pis. 10, 23; Auct. Her. 4, 36, 48; Verg. A. 9, 153 al.: nocte ac luce, Juv. 15, 43: ut veniamus luci, Plaut. Cas. 4, 2, 7: cum luci simul, id. Merc. 2, 1, 31: luci claro, id. Aul. 4, 10, 18; cf. Non. 210, 9: quis audeat luci, Cic. Phil. 12, 10, 25: quodsi luce quoque canes latrent, id. Rosc. Am. 20, 56; Liv. 35, 4, 5: cum primo lucu ibo hinc, Ter. Ad. 5, 3, 55: cum primo luci, Plaut. Cist. 2, 1, 49.—
B. Transf.
1. The heavenly bodies: illae, quae fulgent luces, Cic. Arat. 96.—
2. A day: centesima lux est ab interitu P. Clodii, Cic. Mil. 35, 98: longiore luce ad id certamen nobis opus est, Liv. 3, 2: anxia nocte, anxia luce gemit, Ov. M. 2, 806: crastina, Verg. A. 10, 244: natali die mihi dulcior haec lux, Juv. 12, 1: septima quaeque lux, id. 14, 105; cf.: natura volvente vices et lucis et anni, id. 13, 88. —Hence, poet.: lux aestiva, summer, Verg. G. 4, 52: lux brumalis, winter, Ov. Tr. 1, 11, 39.—
3. Life: qui ab Orco mortuom me reducem in lucem feceris, Ter. Hec. 5, 4, 12: corpora luce carentum, i. e. of the dead, Verg. G. 4, 255; Sil. 13, 473; cf.: simul atque editi in lucem sumus, Cic. Tusc. 3, 1, 2.—
4. An eye, the eyesight: effossae squalent vestigia lucis, Stat. Th. 11, 585: damnum lucis ademptae, Ov. M. 14, 197.—
5. A light, of an eminent man to whom all eyes turn: Luce nihil gestum, nihil est Diomede remoto, Ov. M. 13, 100.—Of a beloved person: o lux salve candida, Plaut. Mil. 4, 8, 34.—
II. Trop.
A. The sight of all men, the public view, the public, the world: nec vero ille in luce modo, atque in oculis civium magnus sed intus domique praestantior, Cic. Sen. 4, 12: Isocrates forensi luce caruit, id. Brut. 8, 32: familiam abjectam et obscu ram e tenebris in lucem vocare, id. Deiot. 11, 30: res occultas aperire in lucemque proferre, id. Ac. 2, 19, 62.—
B. Light, encouragement, help, succor: lux quaedam videbatur oblata, non modo regno, sed etiam regni timore sublato, Cic. Phil. 1, 2, 40: civibus lucem ingenii et consilii porrigere, id. de Or. 1, 40, 184; cf.: lucem adferre rei publicae, id. Manil. 12, 33.—
C. A light, an ornament: hanc urbem, lucem orbis terrarum, Cic. Cat. 4, 6, 11: genus sine luce, undistinguished, obscure, Sil. 8, 248.—
D. Light, illustration, elucidation: historia testis temporum, lux veritatis, Cic. de Or. 2, 9, 36.—
E. That which enlightens, the source of illumination: ratio quasi quaedam lux lumenque vitae. Cic. Ac. 2, 8, 26; cf.: ego sum lux mundi, Vulg. John, 8, 12; id. ib. 12, 26.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewk-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*léwks
  3. Proto-Italic*louks
  4. Latinlūx

From Proto-Italic *louks, from Proto-Indo-European *léwks. Cognates include Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white, blank, light, bright, clear”), Ancient Greek *λύκη (*lúkē, “light, morning twilight”), Sanskrit रोचते (rocate) and Old English lēoht (English light (noun)).

Insular Romance
  • Sardinianluche
  • Sardinianlughe
  • Sardinianluxi
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseluzfrom Old Galician-Portuguese luz
  • Spanishluzfrom Old Spanish luz
  • Aragoneseluz
  • Galicianluzfrom Old Galician-Portuguese luz
  • Asturianlluz
  • Extremaduranlus
  • Leoneselluz
  • Mirandeselhuç
  • Ladinoluzfrom Old Spanish luz
  • Ladinoלוזfrom Old Spanish luz
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianluce
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianluce
  • Gallureselucifrom Corsican luce
  • Sassareseluzifrom Corsican luce
  • Dalmatianloic
  • Neapolitanluce
  • Sicilianluci
  • Venetanłuxe
Gallo-Romance
  • Occitanlutz
  • Old Catalanluts
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianlûṡ
  • Ligurianluxe
  • Ligurianlûxe
  • Lombardlus
  • Lombardlüs
  • Piedmonteseluce
  • Piedmonteselus
  • Romagnolluš
  • Romagnolluș
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianlûs
  • Romanshglisch
  • Romanshglüsch
  • Romanshgleisch

Quick answers

What does lūx mean in Latin?
lūx, a noun, means “light (of the sun, stars etc.); daylight, day, moonlight; life”.
What is the genitive of lūx?
The genitive singular is lūcis. lūx is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce lūx?
In classical Latin, [ˈɫuːks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈluks].
Where does lūx come from?
Proto-Indo-European *lewk- → Proto-Indo-European *léwks → Proto-Italic *louks → Latin lūx.