illumine, v.
(ɪˈl(j)uːmɪn)
Also 4–6 illumyne, yll-.
[a. F. illuminer (12–13th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. L. illūmināre.]
= illuminate v.
1. trans. To light up, shed light upon; to shine upon or into; to light up in token of rejoicing or honour.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce viii. 228 Thair speris, thair pennownys, & thar scheldis Of licht Illumynit all the feldis. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 22 A ful greth lyht Illumyned sodeynly that derk presoun. 1500–20 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 41 Illumynit our with orient skyis brycht. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 666 The sudden blaze Far round illumin'd hell. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. I. 375 Clouds..illumined by the sun. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington viii, When the long-illumined cities flame Their ever-loyal iron leader's fame. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxvii. 202 The Aiguille and Dôme were most singularly illumined. |
| fig. ? a 1550 in Dunbar's Poems (1890) 322 Jesus the sterne of most bewte In the is rissin..Fro dirknes to illumyne the. 1856 Sat. Rev. II. 465/2 Casual expressions..illumine hidden depths in the man's heart and character. |
b. To give light or sight to (the eyes).
| 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 188 b, When god had illumined the eies of the kyng. 1567 Triall Treas. (1850) 30 Who ilumineth myne eyes to see my saluation. |
c. intr. To become light or bright; to be illuminated.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 21 All the houss illumynit of hir lemys. Ibid. 157 All the land illumynit of the licht. 1773 J. Ross Fratricide iv. 598 (MS.) The clouds up-rise, and Heav'n's dark hemisphere Illumines as they pass. 1801 A. Seward Lett. (1811) V. 395 Our city illumines tomorrow. |
2. To enlighten spiritually; to convert; to inspire. (The earliest sense in
Eng.)
| c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 14 When the resone..es illuminede with grace for to be-halde Godde and gastely thynges. 1382 Wyclif Heb. vi. 4 Hem that oonys ben illumyned [L. illuminati]. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xiv. 336 Good lord, ye created and made our fader Adam..and yllumyned him with the grace of the holi gost. 1554 in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. xvii. 43 Which faith is..wrought by the H. Ghost..Where through..the mind is illumined. 18.. I. Williams Hymn, ‘Disposer Supreme’, The lights thou hast kindled In darkness around, O may they illumine Our spirits within. |
3. To enlighten mentally or intellectually.
rare.
| a 1529 Skelton Bowge of Courte 20 Ignoraunce full soone dyde me dyscure, And shewed that in this arte I was not sure; For to illumyne, she sayde, I was to dulle. c 1532 Remedie of Love xxx, O ye muses nine Whilom ye were wont to be mine aide & light, My penne to direct, my braine to illumine. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 23 What in me is dark Illumine. 1784 De Lolme's Eng. Const. Life, Whose labours delighted and illumined mankind. 1847 Lytton Lucretia ii. vi, This benighted mind, only illumined by a kind of miserable astuteness. |
4. To brighten as with light, to make radiant.
| 1508 Dunbar Goldyn Targe 258 Thy fresch anamalit termes celicall This mater coud illumynit haue full brycht. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 486 And as the bright sun glorifies the sky, So is her face illumined with her eye. 1851 Longfellow Gold. Leg. i. Castle Vautsberg, Like a happy lover Who illumines life with dreaming! 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 34 Delight their faces illumines. |
5. To illuminate (manuscripts, etc.); also
fig.| 1717 Pope Let. to Lady M. W. Montagu Oct., She..had his sonnets curiously copied out, and illumined with letters of gold. 1738 ― Epil. Sat. ii. 121 To Cato Virgil pay'd one honest line; O let my Country's Friends illumine mine! |
Hence
iˈllumined ppl. a. iˈllumining vbl. n. and ppl. a. (
lit. and
fig.)
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. iv. 6 To the illumynynge of the Science of the Cleernesse of God. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, The sentences of illumyned doctours concernynge perfeccyon. 1641 Milton Reform. ii. (1851) 68 The third Subsistence of Divine Infinitude, illumining Spirit. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The sect of illumined was revived in France in the year 1634..but they were so hotly pursued by Louis XIII, that they were soon destroyed. The brothers of the rosy cross, are sometimes also called illumined. 1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 55 We procured a bucket full of the illumined sea-water. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 426 Another illumining of the Holy Spirit came for the benefit of those who received the prophecy. |