luminary

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The Word of the Day for February 4 is: 

luminary   \LOO-muh-nair-ee\   noun
         *1 : a person of prominence or brilliant achievement 
     2 : a body that gives light; especially : one of the celestial bodies

Example sentence:
          The front of the science building is engraved with the names of 
luminaries from various scientific disciplines.

Did you know?
          Allow us to shed some light on "luminary." It came to English by way 
of Anglo-French and Late Latin, and it traces back to the Latin word "lumen," 
meaning "light." Other "lumen" descendants in English include "illuminate" (to 
light up), "luminous" (emitting light) and "phillumenist" (one who collects 
matchbooks or matchbox labels). "Luminary" has been shining its light in 
English since the 15th century.





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