Lucifer
name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A self-igniting match, i.e. one which could be lit by striking on any surface (as opposed to safety matches which only light against the material on the side of the box). British, archaic
"While you’ve a lucifer to light your fag, / Smile, boys, that’s the style"
- 2 lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction wordnet
- 3 a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky wordnet
- 1 The planet Venus as the daystar (the morning star). literary
"Near-synonyms: Vesper, Hesperus, evening star, Venus"
- 2 The King of Babylon who was compared to the planet Venus in first the Wycliffe version then the King James Version of Isaiah 14:12; it is unclear whether this verse refers to a specific king or to a representation of the entire line of kings of Babylon.
- 3 Satan, the Devil.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Hello, I'm Lucifer. I run things around here."
Etymology
From Middle English Lucifer, from Latin Lūcifer (from lūx (“light”) + ferō (“bear, carry”)). Attested in Old English as Lūċifer. Replaced native calque lēohtberend (“lightbearer”) also from the same Latin source. Application of the name to Satan results from what is probably a misinterpretation of Isaiah 14:12 (whence also the corresponding sense of morning star).
Originally a brand name for matches made by Samuel Jones from 1830, soon used generically for self-igniting matches of any brand. From Latin lucifer (“bringer of light”).
Related phrases
More for "lucifer"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.