What does "lightsome" mean?

Characterised by light; luminous; emitting or manifesting light; radiant.

What is a synonym for "lightsome"?

Common synonyms include: airy, blithe, blithe, blithesome, breezy, buoyant.

//ˈlaɪtsəm// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Characterised by light; luminous; emitting or manifesting light; radiant. literary
"While in their mothers wombe enclosd they were, / Ere they into the lightsom world were brought, / In fleshly lust were mingled both yfere […]"
2
Characterised by lightness of weight, not heavy; nimble, active.
3
Upbeat; cheery; light graceful.
"Reality is lightsome, that is, light and graceful.... Moreover, the play, the lightsome character of reality, would be misunderstood if this dimension were to be severed from what really makes a play a play, [...]"

Adjective

"While in their mothers wombe enclosd they were, / Ere they into the lightsom world were brought, / In fleshly lust were mingled both yfere […]"

Etymology 1

From Middle English lightsum, equivalent to light (“bright”, adjective) + -some (suffix forming adjectives).

Etymology 2

From light (“not heavy”, adjective) + -some (suffix forming adjectives). Cognate with Middle High German līhtsam, modern German leichtsam.

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