lighter
noun
- portable device used to generate a flame
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L332137 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪtɚ/ / [ˈlaɪɾɚ] / /ˈlaɪtə/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewk-der. Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz Proto-West Germanic *leuht Old English lēoht Middle English light English light English -er English lighter From light (“not heavy, weak”) + -er (“comparative”).
- comparative form of light: more light
“What happened? You look 10 lbs. lighter!”
“I wish I'd thrown a lighter punch; he's out cold.”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English lightere, lyghtere, equivalent to light (“to unload, lighten”) + -er. Compare West Frisian lichter (“lighter ship”), Dutch lichter (“lighter ship”), Middle Low German lichter, lüchter, lüchtære (“a small ship that lightens a load, lighter ship”).
- A flat-bottomed boat for carrying heavy loads across short distances (especially for canals or for loading or unloading larger boats).
“It is, of course, possible to work only to or from lighters in this way, and such working is not very general in this country, although a certain amount of such overside work is carried on in enclosed docks.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English lightere, lyghtere, equivalent to light (“to unload, lighten”) + -er. Compare West Frisian lichter (“lighter ship”), Dutch lichter (“lighter ship”), Middle Low German lichter, lüchter, lüchtære (“a small ship that lightens a load, lighter ship”).
- To transfer (cargo or passengers) to or from a ship by means of a lighter or other small vessel.
“1900. Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain. Vol. 7, pg. 3227. Troops and stores were lightered to the wharves inside the harbor by steamers Orizaba and Berkshire.”
“Beyond the station an extension descends at 1 in 30, the steepest gradient on the line, to Government Wharf, where cargo is lightered to and from ships at anchor in the harbour.”
- To transfer cargo or fuel from (a ship), lightening it to make its draft less or to make it easier to refloat.