different between ebb vs lighten
ebb
English
Etymology
From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abj? (compare West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe, Old Norse efja (“countercurrent”)), from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. (compare Old English af). More at of, off.
Pronunciation
- enPR: ?b, IPA(key): /?b/
- Rhymes: -?b
Noun
ebb (plural ebbs)
- The receding movement of the tide.
- 1824, Mary Shelley, Time
- Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow / Claspest the limits of morality!
- 1824, Mary Shelley, Time
- A gradual decline.
- 1684, Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, Essay on Translated Verse
- Thus all the treasure of our flowing years, / Our ebb of life for ever takes away.
- 1826, Mary Shelley, The Last Man
- This reflection thawed my congealing blood, and again the tide of life and love flowed impetuously onward, again to ebb as my busy thoughts changed.
- 1684, Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, Essay on Translated Verse
- (especially in the phrase 'at a low ebb') A low state; a state of depression.
- 1695, John Dryden (translator), Observations on the Art of Painting by Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy
- Painting was then at its lowest ebb.
- 2002, Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 22 & 29 April
- A "lowest ebb" implies something singular and finite, but for many of us, born in the Depression and raised by parents distrustful of fortune, an "ebb" might easily have lasted for years.
- 1695, John Dryden (translator), Observations on the Art of Painting by Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy
- A European bunting, the corn bunting (Emberiza calandra, syns. Emberiza miliaria, Milaria calandra).
Antonyms
- flood
- flow
Derived terms
- ebb and flow
- ebb tide
Related terms
- neap
- tide
Translations
Verb
ebb (third-person singular simple present ebbs, present participle ebbing, simple past and past participle ebbed)
- (intransitive) to flow back or recede
- (intransitive) to fall away or decline
- (intransitive) to fish with stakes and nets that serve to prevent the fish from getting back into the sea with the ebb
- (transitive) To cause to flow back.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Ford to this entry?)
Synonyms
ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out, reflux, wane
Translations
Adjective
ebb (comparative ebber, superlative ebbest)
- low, shallow
- All the sea lying betweene, is verie ebbe, full of shallowes and shelves
Anagrams
- BBE
Swedish
Noun
ebb c
- ebb; low tide
- Antonyms: flod, högvatten
- Synonym: lågvatten
Declension
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lighten
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?la?.t?n/
- Rhymes: -a?t?n
Etymology 1
From Middle English lightnen, equivalent to light +? -en.
Verb
lighten (third-person singular simple present lightens, present participle lightening, simple past and past participle lightened)
- (transitive) To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.
- 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis, London: Henry Herringman, stanza 231, p. 59,[1]
- A Key of fire ran all along the shore,
- And lighten’d all the river with the blaze:
- 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis, London: Henry Herringman, stanza 231, p. 59,[1]
- (intransitive) To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
- (intransitive, archaic) To burst forth or dart, as lightning; to shine with, or like, lightning; to flash.
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, line 500,[2]
- Enter the Conjurer; it lightens and thunders […]
- c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 3,[3]
- […] this dreadful night,
- That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars
- As doth the lion.
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, line 500,[2]
- (transitive) To emit or disclose in, or as if in, lightning; to flash out, like lightning.
- c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act III, Scene 3,[4]
- […] behold his eye,
- As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth
- Controlling majesty:
- c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act III, Scene 3,[4]
- To illuminate with knowledge; to enlighten.
- 1599, John Davies, “Of the Soule of man, and the immortalitie thereof” in Nosce Teipsum. This Oracle Expounded in Two Elegies, London: John Standish, p. 10,[5]
- O Light which mak’st the Light, which makes the Day,
- Which setst the Eye without and Mind within,
- Lighten my spirit with one cleare heavenly ray,
- Which now to view it selfe doth first begin.
- 1599, John Davies, “Of the Soule of man, and the immortalitie thereof” in Nosce Teipsum. This Oracle Expounded in Two Elegies, London: John Standish, p. 10,[5]
Conjugation
Derived terms
- lighten up
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English lightnen, equivalent to light +? -en.
Verb
lighten (third-person singular simple present lightens, present participle lightening, simple past and past participle lightened)
- (transitive) To alleviate; to reduce the burden of.
- (transitive) To make light or lighter in weight.
- (transitive) To make less serious or more cheerful.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Psalms 34:5,[6]
- They looked unto him, were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Psalms 34:5,[6]
- (intransitive) To become light or lighter in weight.
- (intransitive) To become less serious or more cheerful.
Conjugation
Derived terms
- lighten up
Translations
Etymology 3
From light +? -en.
Verb
lighten (third-person singular simple present lightens, present participle lightening, simple past and past participle lightened)
- To descend; to light.
- Book of Common Prayer
- O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us.
- Book of Common Prayer
Related terms
- alight
Anagrams
- enlight, lething
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