LUCIFER

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Lucifer mean? 

• LUCIFER (noun)
  The noun LUCIFER has 3 senses:

1. (Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell

2. a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky

3. lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction

  Familiarity information: LUCIFER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LUCIFER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Beelzebub; Devil; Lucifer; Old Nick; Prince of Darkness; Satan; the Tempter

Instance hypernyms:

spiritual being; supernatural being (an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events)

Domain category:

faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny)

Islam; Islamism; Mohammedanism; Muhammadanism; Muslimism (the monotheistic religious system of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

daystar; Lucifer; morning star; Phosphorus

Hypernyms ("Lucifer" is a kind of...):

major planet; planet ((astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

friction match; lucifer; match

Context example:

as long you've a lucifer to light your fag

Hypernyms ("lucifer" is a kind of...):

igniter; ignitor; light; lighter (a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires)

Meronyms (parts of "lucifer"):

matchstick (a short thin stick of wood used in making matches)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lucifer"):

fusee; fuzee (a friction match with a large head that will stay alight in the wind)

kitchen match (a wooden friction match that will light on any granular surface; useful to light wood or gas stoves)

book matches; safety match (a paper match that strikes only on a specially prepared surface)

slow match (match or fuse made to burn slowly and evenly)

 Context examples 

“Good-bye, Lucifer,” I whispered to myself as I softly closed the door.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“I know that you are as proud as Lucifer,” said I.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I'm as proud as Lucifer, but such favors from such people don't burden me, and I accepted gratefully.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Again that unnamable and unmistakable terror was in her eyes, and she said, almost in a whisper, “You are Lucifer.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“Good-bye, Lucifer, proud spirit,” Maud whispered, so low that it was drowned by the shouting of the wind; but I saw the movement of her lips and knew.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But Lucifer was a free spirit.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He is as Lucifer would be, were that proud spirit banished to a society of soulless, Tomlinsonian ghosts.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was inevitable that Milton’s Lucifer should be instanced, and the keenness with which Wolf Larsen analysed and depicted the character was a revelation of his stifled genius.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)