What does "electroluminescence" mean?

The generation of light by the application of an alternating current to a semiconductor or phosphor, or by an electric discharge through a gas.

Electroluminescence

Common synonyms include: fata morgana, fluorescence, fox fire, galvanoluminescence, ignis fatuus, luminescence.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The generation of light by the application of an alternating current to a semiconductor or phosphor, or by an electric discharge through a gas. uncountable, usually

From electro- + luminescence.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.