See also: limn-

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English limnen, limyne, lymm, lymn, lymne (to illuminate (a manuscript)),[1] a variant of luminen (to illuminate (a manuscript)),[2] short form of enluminen (to shed light on, illuminate; to enlighten; to make bright or clear; to give colour to; to illuminate (a manuscript); to depict, describe; to adorn or embellish with figures of speech or poetry; to make famous, glorious, or illustrious), from Old French enluminer (to brighten, light up; to give colour to; to illuminate (a manuscript)),[3] from Latin illūminō (to brighten, light up; to adorn; to make conspicuous), from il- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside’)) + lūminō (to brighten, illuminate; to reveal) (from lūmen (light; (poetic) brightness) (from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (bright; to shine; to see)) + (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).[4]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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limn (third-person singular simple present limns, present participle limning, simple past and past participle limned)

  1. (transitive, also figuratively) To draw or paint; to delineate.
    Synonym: depict
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To illuminate, as a manuscript; to decorate with gold or some other bright colour.
    Synonym: (to illuminate (a manuscript)) enlimn
    • 1721, John Strype, chapter XXV, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It, and the Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. and Queen Mary the First. [] In Three Volumes. [], volume I, London: Printed for John Wyat, [], →OCLC, book I, page 182:
      Some of her [Elizabeth Barton's] Revelations were no better than ſilly Tales: Such was a certain Tale of Mary Magdalen, delivering her a Letter from Heaven, that was limned with golden Letters: which indeed was written by a Monk of St. Auguſtines, Canterbury: and another at Calais.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ limnen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. ^ lūminen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. ^ enlūminen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 13 May 2019.
  4. ^ Compare limn, v.”, in OED Online  , Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1903; lumine, v.”, in OED Online  , Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1903; limn, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.