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Apr 17, 2008
This week's theme
Words made using combining forms

This week's words
cenotaph
endogamy
setiform
noctilucent
geoponic
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

noctilucent

(nok-tuh-LOO-suhnt) Pronunciation Sound Clip

adjective: Shining at night.

[From Latin nocti- (night) + lucent (shining).]

The term is often used of clouds that are luminous at night.

"The noctilucent paint is powerful enough to light up the entire 20-ft diameter of the pandal* without any light bulbs."
Sangita Sultania G. Roy; Glow-worm Goddess for Shoestring Budget; The Telegraph (Calcutta, India); Oct 21, 2004.
[* a temporary shed erected to hold an event]

See more usage examples of noctilucent in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus

If someone does something we disapprove of, we regard him as bad if we believe we can deter him from persisting in his conduct, but we regard him as mad if we believe we cannot. -Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (b. 1920)

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