different between lighten vs comfort

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)

1. (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:

2. (intransitive) To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
3. (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.

4. (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:

5. 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.

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)

1. (transitive) To alleviate; to reduce the burden of.

2. (transitive) To make light or lighter in weight.
3. (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.

4. (intransitive) To become light or lighter in weight.
5. (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)

1. To descend; to light.
   • Book of Common Prayer

     O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us.

Related terms

• alight

Anagrams

• enlight, lething

English

Etymology

The verb is from Middle English conforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confort? (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).

The noun is from Middle English confort, from Old French cunfort, confort, from the stem of Late Latin confort?. It replaced Old English frofor, Middle English frovre.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/
• (General American) enPR: k?m'f?rt, IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/, [?k???.f?t]
• (obsolete) enPR: k?mfôrt', IPA^(key): /k?m?f??t/

Noun

comfort (countable and uncountable, plural comforts)

1. Contentment, ease.

2. Something that offers comfort.

3. A consolation; something relieving suffering or worry.

4. A cause of relief or satisfaction.

Synonyms

• liss

Antonyms

• (contentment, ease): austerity

Translations

Verb

comfort (third-person singular simple present comforts, present participle comforting, simple past and past participle comforted)

1. (transitive) To relieve the distress or suffering of; to provide comfort to.
2. (transitive) To make comfortable. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (obsolete) To make strong; to invigorate; to fortify; to corroborate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     God's own testimony […] doth not a little comfort and confirm the same.

4. (obsolete) To assist or help; to aid.

Synonyms

• besoothe

Translations

Derived terms

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch confoort, from Old French confort.

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /k?m?f??r/
• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /k?m?f?r(t)/
• Hyphenation: com?fort

Noun

comfort n (plural comforts, diminutive comfortje n)

1. Physical comfort, ease.

Derived terms

• comfortabel
• ligcomfort
• rijcomfort
• zitcomfort