brightness

English

Alternative forms

• brightnesse (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English bryghtnes, brightnesse, from Old English beorhtnes (“brightness, splendor”), from Proto-West Germanic *berhtnassī, equivalent to bright +‎ -ness. Cognate with Old High German berahtnessī, berahtnessi (“brightness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹaɪtnəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪtnəs
• Hyphenation: bright‧ness

Noun

English Wikipedia has an article on:

brightness

Wikipedia

brightness (usually uncountable, plural brightnesses)

1. The quality of being bright.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.

2. The perceived luminance of an object.
3. (idiomatic, figurative) Intelligence, cleverness.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:intelligence

Derived terms

• apparent brightness
• intrinsic brightness

Translations

the quality of being bright

Arabic: سُطُوع m (suṭūʕ) Armenian: պայծառություն (hy) (paycaṙutʻyun) Bengali: রৌশনী (bn) (rōuśoni) Bulgarian: блясък (bg) m (bljasǎk) Chinese: Mandarin: 明亮 (zh) (míngliàng) Czech: jas (cs) m inan, jasnost f, třpyt m Dutch: glans (nl) m, helderheid (nl) f Egyptian: (ḥḏḏwt f), (wbḫt f) Esperanto: heldenso, helodenso Finnish: hohto (fi), kirkkaus (fi), loisto (fi), välke (fi) French: brillance (fr) German: Funkeln (de) n, Glanz (de) m (reflected from a surface, hair, skin), Helligkeit (de) f, Strahlen (de) n Greek: φωτεινότητα (el) f (foteinótita) Ancient: γάνος n (gános), λαμπρότης f (lamprótēs) Hebrew: בהירות f (behirut) Hindi: चमक (hi) (camak) Hungarian: fényesség (hu) Irish: gile (ga) f, gléine f, lonracht f, spéiriúlacht f Japanese: 明るさ (ja) (あかるさ, akarusa) Latin: candor m Norwegian: glans m, klarhet (no) c, lyshet c, lysstyrke m Persian: درخشندگی (fa) (deraxšandegi) Polish: jasność (pl) f Portuguese: brilho (pt), claridade (pt) f, clareza (pt) f (figurative) Quechua: phaqsa Romanian: splendoare (ro) f, strălucire (ro) f Russian: блеск (ru) m (blesk) (brilliance, glitter), я́ркость (ru) f (járkostʹ), вспы́шка (ru) f (vspýška) (flash) Spanish: brillo (es) m Swedish: ljusstyrka (sv) Tagalog: liwanag (tl) Tausug: sinag Telugu: వెలుగు (te) (velugu) Thai: ความสว่าง (th) (kwaam-sà-wàang) Turkish: parlaklık (tr) Ukrainian: яскра́вість (uk) f (jaskrávistʹ) Urdu: چمک (camak) Welsh: lleu m

perception elicited by the luminance of an object

Armenian: պայծառություն (hy) (paycaṙutʻyun), լուսեղություն (hy) (luseġutʻyun) Bulgarian: я́ркост (bg) f (járkost) French: luminosité (fr) f German: Helligkeit (de) f Greek: λάμψη (el) f (lámpsi) Irish: gile (ga) f, gléine f Latvian: spilgtums m, spožums m Russian: я́ркость (ru) f (járkostʹ) Tagalog: liwanag (tl) Welsh: lleu m

intelligence, cleverness

Armenian: լուսավոր (hy) (lusavor) Finnish: älykkyys (fi) French: intelligence (fr) German: Aufgewecktheit f Greek: εξυπνάδα (el) f (exypnáda) Hebrew: תבונה (he), אינטלגנציה Russian: смышлёность f (smyšljónostʹ), ум (ru) m (um)

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Translations to be checked

Esperanto: (please verify) helo