lucubrate

English

WOTD – 15 December 2008

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lūcubrātus, perfect passive participle of lūcubrō (“work by candlelight”), from lūx (“light”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈluː.kjə.bɹeɪt/

• Audio (US):

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Verb

lucubrate (third-person singular simple present lucubrates, present participle lucubrating, simple past and past participle lucubrated)

1. (rare) To work diligently by artificial light; to study at night.
   • December 1991, K. Boo, “The organization woman”, in The Washington Monthly, volume 23, number 12, page 44:

     Instead, as Oklahoma’s tenure committee lucubrated over Hill’s future, […]

2. To work or write like a scholar.
   • 1846, Nathaniel Chipman, in Daniel Chipman, The Life of Hon. Nathaniel Chipman, LL.D., p. 261,

     […] I shall not hesitate to repeat some of my former thoughts, when lucubrating upon the same subject.

Synonyms

work diligently

• burn the midnight oil
• elucubrate
• pull an all-nighter

Derived terms

• lucubrated (obsolete)

Related terms

• elucubrate
• lucubration
• lucubratist (obsolete)
• lucubrator
• lucubratory

Translations

work diligently by artificial light; to study at night

• French: pernocter (fr), veiller en travaillant
• Japanese: 蛍雪の功を積む (keisetsu no kou wo tsumu)
• Latin: lūcūbrō
• Russian: рабо́тать но́чью (rabótatʹ nóčʹju)

work or write like a scholar

• Russian: усе́рдно труди́ться (usérdno trudítʹsja)

Anagrams

• tubercula

Latin

Verb

lūcubrāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of lūcubrō

Spanish

Verb

lucubrate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of lucubrar combined with te