lustre

chandelier

noun LYOOS-truh Rare

Origin: Italian lustro (brilliance), from Latin lustrare (to illuminate)

Also means

lustre, sheen

Usage Note

Lustre primarily means a hanging light fixture (chandelier) in modern French, but also means sheen or gloss — le lustre de ses cheveux (the lustre of her hair). A third sense, now archaic, is a five-year period. The adjective lustré means shiny or glazed.

Examples

"Un grand lustre illumine la salle de bal."

Natural Translation

A large chandelier illuminates the ballroom.

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