English
radiant
Radiant comes from Latin radiāns ‘shining, beaming’, from radiō ‘to emit rays or beams’, and ultimately from radius ‘spoke of a wheel’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradius‘spoke of a wheel’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiōas radiāre, present participle‘to emit rays or beams’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiāns‘shining, beaming’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500radyant
- Englishearliest quotation 1791radiant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradius‘spoke of a wheel’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiōas radiāre, present participle‘to emit rays or beams’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiāns‘shining, beaming’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500radyant
- Englishearliest quotation 1791radiant
Earliest quotation: 1791, Homer, [The Iliad.] Book III.: “They in ranks / Sat all, where ſtood the…”
Linked words
through Latin radius ‘spoke of a wheel’
through Latin radiō ‘to emit rays or beams’
Today it means
adj Radiating light and/or heat.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin radius / radiant