Lu·ci·fer

(lo͞o′sə-fər)

1. Bible An angelic being who was cast from heaven as punishment for his rebellious pride. Lucifer is traditionally identified with Satan.

2. The planet Venus in its appearance as the morning star. Also called Phosphorus.

3. lucifer A friction match.

[Middle English, from Old English, morning star, Lucifer, from Latin Lūcifer, from lūcifer, light-bringer : lūx, lūc-, light; see leuk- in Indo-European roots + -fer, -fer.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lucifer

(ˈluːsɪfə)

1. (Theology) the leader of the rebellion of the angels: usually identified with Satan

2. (Celestial Objects) the planet Venus when it rises as the morning star

[Old English, from Latin Lūcifer, light-bearer, from lūx light + ferre to bear]

lucifer

(ˈluːsɪfə)

a friction match: originally a trade name for a match manufactured in England in the 19th century

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Lu•ci•fer

(ˈlu sə fər)

n.

1. a proud rebellious archangel, identified with Satan, who fell from heaven.

2. the planet Venus when appearing as the morning star.

3. (l.c.) Also called lu′cifer match`. match ¹ (def. 1).

[before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin: morning star, literally, light-bringing =lūci-, comb. form of lūx light + -fer -fer]

Lucifer

Another name for the Devil.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	Lucifer - (Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell Beelzebub, Devil, Old Nick, Prince of Darkness, Satan, the Tempter faith, religion, religious belief - a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality" Mohammedanism, Muhammadanism, Muslimism, Islam, Islamism - the monotheistic religious system of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran; "Islam is a complete way of life, not a Sunday religion"; "the term Muhammadanism is offensive to Muslims who believe that Allah, not Muhammad, founded their religion"
	2.	Lucifer - a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky daystar, morning star, Phosphorus major planet, planet - (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction
	3.	lucifer - lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction; "he always carries matches to light his pipe"; "as long you've a lucifer to light your fag" friction match, match fuzee, fusee - a friction match with a large head that will stay alight in the wind kitchen match - a wooden friction match that will light on any granular surface; useful to light wood or gas stoves igniter, ignitor, lighter, light - a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires; "do you have a light?" matchstick - a short thin stick of wood used in making matches book matches, safety match - a paper match that strikes only on a specially prepared surface slow match - match or fuse made to burn slowly and evenly

Translations

Lucyfer

Lucifer

Lüsifır

Lucifer

[ˈluːsɪfəʳ] N → Lucifer

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Lucifer

n → Luzifer m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

A straight, dry, and partly decayed stick of the Hibiscus, about six feet in length, and half as many inches in diameter, with a small, bit of wood not more than a foot long, and scarcely an inch wide, is as invariably to be met with in every house in Typee as a box of lucifer matches in the corner of a kitchen cupboard at home.

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The solemnity is simple; the five corps assemble at night, and at a signal they all fall loading themselves with beer, out of pint-mugs, as fast as possible, and each man keeps his own count--usually by laying aside a lucifer match for each mud he empties.

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It had never been a good eye to see with--had long had the mote in it of Lucifer's pride, Sardana--palus's luxury, and a mole's blindness--but it had dropped out and was gone.

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In the Abbe Tigrane, in Lucifer, and elsewhere, he has delineated, with wonderful power and patience, a strictly ecclesiastical portraiture--

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He is as Lucifer would be, were that proud spirit banished to a society of soulless, Tomlinsonian ghosts.

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Half an hour ago he had felt like Lucifer hurled from heaven.

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Another phenomenon, still more strikingly modern, was a package of lucifer matches, which, in old times, would have been thought actually to borrow their instantaneous flame from the nether fires of Tophet.

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There's something ever egotistical in mountain-tops and towers, and all other grand and lofty things; look here, --three peaks as proud as Lucifer. The firm tower, that is Ahab; the volcano, that is Ahab; the courageous, the undaunted, and victorious fowl, that, too, is Ahab; all are Ahab; and this round gold is but the image of the rounder globe, which, like a magician's glass, to each and every man in turn but mirrors back his own mysterious self.

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The first tumbler in the world, you must know, was Lucifer, when they cast or pitched him out of heaven; for he came tumbling into the bottomless pit."

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The list of plays thus presented commonly included: The Fall of Lucifer; the Creation of the World and the Fall of Adam; Noah and the Flood; Abraham and Isaac and the promise of Christ's coming; a Procession of the Prophets, also foretelling Christ; the main events of the Gospel story, with some additions from Christian tradition; and the Day of Judgment.

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"O Rebecca, Rebecca, for shame!" cried Miss Sedley; for this was the greatest blasphemy Rebecca had as yet uttered; and in those days, in England, to say, "Long live Bonaparte!" was as much as to say, "Long live Lucifer!" "How can you--how dare you have such wicked, revengeful thoughts?"

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In all the crime and vice and moral gloom of the great pest-house of the capital, he stood alone, marked and singled out by his great guilt, a Lucifer among the devils.

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