See Also: lightning bug(dictionary)
lightning rod(dictionary)
lightning(encyclopedia)
lightning(2)(dictionary)
lightning(1)(dictionary)
lightning(medicine)
lightning strike(dictionary)
sheet lightning(dictionary)
white lightning(dictionary)
lightning conductor(dictionary)

lightning(1) (iou)



lightning noun & adjective. ME.
[Specialized use of LIGHTENING noun1, now differentiated in spelling.]
A. noun.
The sudden bright light produced by electric discharge between clouds or between a cloud and the ground; (now rare) a flash of lightning, a thunderbolt. ME.
ball lightning, forked lightning, sheet lightning, summer lightning etc. like lightning, like greased lightning with the greatest conceivable speed. ride the lightning: see RIDE verb.
Y. Menuhin When we were safely in the studio..lightning split the sky..illuminating woods and mountains. Merle Collins Two more quick stabs of lightning Thunder crashed again, insistently.
Gin. Also, any strong, esp. low-quality, alcoholic spirit. Chiefly US slang. L18.
Jersey lightning: see JERSEY noun1. white lightning: see WHITE adjective.
In pl. A top grade of white jute. E20.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Very quick. M17.
E. Welty The trick was not to miss the lightning visits of Dr. Courtland. V. Brome They were given a lightning tour of New York.
Comb. & special collocations: lightning-arrester a device to protect telegraphic apparatus etc. from lightning or other voltage surges; lightning beetle US = lightning-bug below; lightning box: used to produce stage lightning; lightning bug N. Amer. a firefly; lightning chess: in which moves must be made at very short intervals; lightning-conductor a metallic rod or wire fixed to the top or other exposed point of a building, or the mast of a ship, to divert lightning into the earth or sea; lightning-proof adjective protected from lightning; lightning-rod = lightning conductor above; lightning-stone = FULGURITE; lightning strike a strike by workers at short notice, esp. without official union backing.