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lighter

Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪtɚ/

The English word “lighter” has 5 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A person who lights things.
  2. A device used to light things, especially a reusable handheld device for creating fire to light cigarettes.
  3. A flat-bottomed boat for carrying heavy loads across short distances (especially for canals or for loading or unloading larger boats).

verb

  1. To transfer (cargo or passengers) to or from a ship by means of a lighter or other small vessel.
  2. To transfer cargo or fuel from (a ship), lightening it to make its draft less or to make it easier to refloat.

Etymology

From light (“to ignite”) + -er. Cognate with Middle Dutch lichtere, lichter (“one who spreads light, illuminator”), Dutch lichter, luchter (“candle-holder, chandelier”). Compare also Middle English lightnere, liȝtnere (“one who enlightens or illuminates”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.