scintiller

to sparkle, twinkle

verb sahn-tee-YEH Rare

Origin: From Latin 'scintilla' (spark).

Usage Note

Scintiller describes the rapid flickering of light, used for stars twinkling, gems glittering, or eyes gleaming. The related noun scintillement means a sparkle or glimmer, and scintillant is the adjective. In physics, scintillation is borrowed directly into French for the same phenomenon in detector science.

Examples

"Les étoiles scintillent dans le ciel clair."

Natural Translation

The stars twinkle in the clear sky.

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