Definitions is an occasional post in which I delve into the meanings of words that are obscure, interesting, or new to me.
Quote from a counted cross-stitch picture given to my father.
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I haven't done one of these in a while. While watching the movie Topsy-Turvy, which is about Gilbert and Sullivan, a dynamic duo who co-wrote numerous humorous operettas during the Victorian Era, I heard the word, effulgent, used in a song.Effulgent? Sounds like it may be related to effluent. However, the definition has nothing to do with sewage or human waste.
It came into use in the mid 18th century and comes directly from the Latin effulgent meaning, shining brightly, radiant, beaming, dazzling, brilliant. You get the picture.
Of all the lights in the night skies, Venus is the most effulgent.
As he bowed to the applause, his face was as effulgent as the sun.
And here's the song from the Mikado (as sung in the movie Topsy-Turvy) in which the word is used. Listen carefully it comes soon in the first verse. I rather like this song...
Ever heard of the word effulgent? Can you use it in a sentence?
