English
Lucifer
Lucifer comes from Middle English Lucifer.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Lucifer
- Englishtodaysame form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Lucifer
- Englishtodaysame form
A compound of Lūcifer ‘light’ + ferō ‘bear, carry’
Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
Proto-Indo-European *léwks ‘something bright, white’
Proto-Italic *louks ‘light’
Latin lūx ‘light’
Latin Lūcifer ‘light’
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to bear, carry’
Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
Latin ferō ‘bear, carry’
The story
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).
Every English word from Middle English Lucifer
Today it means
name The planet Venus as the daystar (the morning star).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English Lucifer / Lucifer