I. ˈlamp, -aa(ə)-, -ai- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English lampe, lamp, from Old French lampe, from Latin lampas, from Greek, torch, lamp, from lampein to give light, shine; akin to Old Irish lassaim I flame, Old Prussian lopis, Hittite lap- to glow, be hot, Old Norse leiptr lightning
1.
a. : a light-giving device: as
(1) : a device with an oil reservoir and a wick that gives light as it burns
(2) : a glass bulb enclosing a filament that glows because of its resistance to electric current
(3) : any of various other devices that produce artificial light
gas lamp
acetylene lamp
fluorescent lamp
b. : a source of natural light (as the sun, the moon, or a star)
the lamps of heaven
c. : any of various devices for the application of heat: as
(1) : an apparatus for drying foundry molds during their fabrication
(2) : a therapeutic heat lamp
2. : a source of intellectual, moral, or spiritual illumination
thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path — Ps 119:105 (Revised Standard Version)
wanted them to be lamps unto themselves — Emma Hawkridge
3. : eye
my wasting lamps — Shakespeare
turned her hot lamps on me — R.P.Warren
•
- of the lamp
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. archaic : to furnish with lamps
2. : to light or brighten by or as if by lamps
scattered lights lamping the rush and roll of the abyss — Robert Browning
3. slang : to look at : eye , see
I've lamped two dicks — had their eve on us all day — Elmer Davis
for the love of Patrick Henry, lamp that! — Cosmopolitan
intransitive verb
: to shine as or like a lamp
the Spirit-Seven companioning God's throne they lamp before — Robert Browning
III. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably of imitative origin
chiefly Scotland : to walk quickly taking long strides