lustre

See also: lustré

English

Metallic lustre of hematite

Vitreous lustre of amethyst

Chandelier decorated with glass lustres dangling below

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlʌstə/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Etymology 1

Middle French lustre. See luster (etymology 1).

Noun

lustre (countable and uncountable, plural lustres)

1. (British spelling) Alternative form of luster (shine, etc.)
2. (Geology) the way in which the surface of any particular type of mineral reflects light differently from other minerals, which is helpful in telling minerals apart.

   Various kinds of minerals differ in their lustre; iron pyrites are described as having a metallic lustre, glassy materials a vitreous lustre; others, such as opal, look resinous, and the lustres of yet others are described as being either pearly, or silky, or dull, like earth.

3. a glass ornament such as a prism or cut glass dangling beneath a chandelier; usually in clusters or festoons
   • 2013, Shena Mackay, Redhill Rococo, →ISBN:

     ...he went out through the unfamiliar hall, setting the chandelier clashing its dusty lustres with his hand, leaving a prismatic jangle behind him in the empty house.

4. (dated in English) a chandelier, particularly one decorated with glass lustres
   • 1838, John Henry Brady, A new pocket guide to London and its environs‎^[1]:

     In the centre is painted an eagle, from whose beak an elegant glass lustre chandelier is suspended. There are also ten smaller chandeliers in different parts of the room.

   • 1889, Anonymous, The Journal of Gas Lighting, Water Supply & Sanitary Improvement‎^[2]:

     On the ground floor, the library (a room in carved oak) is lighted by a lustre composed of twelve regenerative burners enclosed in tinted glasses.

Antonyms

• dullness
• lacklustre

Derived terms

• lustreware

Related terms

• lustrous

Translations

luster — see luster

Verb

lustre (third-person singular simple present lustres, present participle lustring, simple past and past participle lustred)

1. (British spelling) Alternative form of luster

Translations

luster — see luster

Etymology 2

From Latin lustrum. See luster (etymology 2)

Noun

lustre (plural lustres)

1. (British spelling) Alternative form of luster (a lustrum)

Translations

lustrum — see lustrum

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for lustre in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Anagrams

• Ulster, lurest, luster, luters, result, rulest, rustle, sutler, truels, ulster

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin lustrum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈlus.tɾə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈlus.tɾe/

Noun

lustre m (plural lustres)

1. lustrum (period of five years)

Related terms

• llustre

Further reading

• “lustre” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lystʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin lūstrum.

Noun

lustre m (plural lustres)

1. lustrum; period of five years
2. (figuratively) a very long time

   Ça fait des lustres que je ne t'ai pas vu ! ― I haven't seen you in ages!

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian lustro.

Noun

lustre m (plural lustres)

1. lustre, chandelier
2. gloss, shine, lustre

Related terms

• lustrage
• lustrer
• lustrine

Descendants

• Russian: лю́стра f (ljústra)

Further reading

• “lustre” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Interlingue

Noun

lustre (plural lustres)

1. luster (light)
2. polish
3. (historical) lustrum

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Italian

Adjective

lustre f pl

1. feminine plural of lustro

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Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian lustro.

Noun

lustre m (plural lustres)

1. lustre; shine

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Portuguese

lustre

Etymology

From French lustre.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈluʃ.tɾɨ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlus.tɾi/, /ˈluʃ.tɾi/
• Hyphenation: lus‧tre

Noun

lustre m (plural lustres)

1. chandelier

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlustɾe/, [ˈlust̪ɾe]

Noun

lustre m (plural lustres)

1. lustre, shine

Verb

lustre

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of lustrar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of lustrar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of lustrar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of lustrar.

Further reading

• “lustre” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.