Flat vs Light - What's the difference?

flat | light |

As an adjective flat

is having no variations in height.

As an adverb flat

is so as to be flat.

As a noun flat

is an area of level ground or flat can be (archaic|new england|now chiefly british) an apartment.

As a verb flat

is (poker slang) to make a flat call; to call without.

As a proper noun light is

flat

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) flat, from (etyl) Flat] in (Online Etymology Dictionary) flatr (Norwegian and Swedish flat, Danish flad), from (etyl) [http://ordnet.dk/ods/opslag?opslag=flad&submit=S%F8g Sanskrit, OHG and Greek cognates named.

Alternative forms

* , (l) (obsolete)

Adjective

(flatter)

Having no variations in height.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=17 citation , passage=The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].}}

(of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.

(music, note) Lowered by one semitone.

(music) Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.

(music, voice) Without variations in pitch.

Of a carbonated drink, with all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.

Uninteresting.

* Coleridge

A large part of the work is, to me, very flat .

* Shakespeare

How weary, stale, flat , and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world.

(wine) Lacking acidity without being sweet.

Absolute.

(slang) Describing certain features, usually the breasts and/or buttocks, that are extremely small or not visible at all.

(of a battery) Unable to emit power; dead.

(juggling, of a throw) Without spin; spinless.

Lacking liveliness of commercial exchange and dealings; depressed; dull.

The market is flat .

(phonetics, dated, of a consonant) sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant

(obsolete) Clear; unmistakable; peremptory; absolute; positive; downright.

* Shakespeare

flat burglary as ever was committed

* Marston

A great tobacco taker too, — that's flat .

Synonyms

* (having no variations in altitude) even, planar, plane, smooth, uniform * (deflated) deflated, punctured * (without variations in pitch) monotone * (uninteresting) boring, dull, uninteresting * flabby

Antonyms

* (having no variations in altitude) bumpy, cratered, hilly (of terrain), rough (of a surface), wrinkled (of a surface) * sharp * sharp

Derived terms

* flat as a pancake * flatcar * flat-footed * flatly * flatness * flat out * flat rate * flatten * that's flat

Adverb

(en adverb)

So as to be flat.

Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.

Bluntly.

I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat .

Not exceeding.

He can run a mile in four minutes flat .

Completely.

I am flat broke this month.

Directly; flatly.

* Herbert

Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty.

(finance, slang) Without allowance for accrued interest.

Synonyms

* (so as to be flat) * (bluntly) bluntly, curtly * (not exceeding) tops * (completely) absolutely, completely, utterly

Noun

(en noun)

An area of level ground.

* Francis Bacon

Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a flat .

* , chapter=3

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats . I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}

(music) A note played a semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol sign placed after the letter representing the note (e.g.'', B?) or in front of the note symbol (''e.g. ??).

(informal, automotive) A flat tyre/tire.

* 2012 , July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track

The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent.

(in the plural) A type of ladies' shoes with very low heels.

(painting) A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolor/watercolour painting.

The part of something:

# (swordfighting) The side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.

# The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.

A wide, shallow container.

(geometry) A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.

A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.

A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.

(US) A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.

A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.

(mining) A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.

(Raymond)

(obsolete) A dull fellow; a simpleton.

* Holmes

Or if you cannnot make a speech, / Because you are a flat .

(technical theatre) A rectangular wooden structure covered with masonite, lauan or muslin that can be raised as a platform.

Antonyms

* (note) sharp * (shoes) high heels

Derived terms

* mudflat

Verb

(poker slang) To make a flat call; to call without .

To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.

(intransitive, music, colloquial) To fall from the pitch.

(music) To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.

(dated) To make flat; to flatten; to level.

(dated) To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.

* Barrow

Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted .

Etymology 2

From 1795, alteration of (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)

(archaic, New England, now chiefly British) An apartment.

Synonyms

* (apartment) apartment

Derived terms

* block of flats * flatlet * flatmate * flatter

References

Anagrams

* 1000 English basic words ----

light

English

Alternative forms

* lite (informal); lyght, lyghte (obsolete) * (l) (Scotland)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) .

Noun

(wikipedia light) (en noun)

(uncountable) The natural medium emanating from the Sun and other very hot sources (now recognised as electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 400-750 nm), within which vision is possible.

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=3 citation , passage=Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light .}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Out of the gloom , passage=[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light' to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of ' light in the villages.}}

A source of illumination.

* , chapter=5

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights , […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.}}

Spiritual or mental illumination; enlightenment, useful information.

* Shakespeare

He shall never know / That I had any light of this from thee.

Facts; pieces of information; ideas, concepts.

* , Book I, New York 2001, page 166:

Now these notions are twofold, actions or habits […], which are durable lights and notions, which we may use when we will.

A notable person within a specific field or discipline.

* Tennyson

Joan of Arc, a light of ancient France

(painting) The manner in which the light strikes a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or other scene; opposed to shade .

A point of view, or aspect from which a concept, person or thing is regarded.

* South

Frequent consideration of a thing shows it in its several lights and various ways of appearance.

A flame or something used to create fire.

A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or coloured flame.

a Bengal light

A window, or space for a window in architecture.

The series of squares reserved for the answer to a crossword clue.

(informal) A cross-light in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.

Open view; a visible state or condition; public observation; publicity.

* Shakespeare

The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light .

The power of perception by vision.

* Bible, Psalms xxxviii. 10

My strength faileth me; as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me.

The brightness of the eye or eyes.

* Shakespeare

He seemed to find his way without his eyes; / For out o'door he went without their helps, / And, to the last, bended their light on me.

A traffic light, or, by extension, an intersection controlled by one.

Synonyms

* (electromagnetic wave perceived by the eye) visible light

Derived terms

* ancient lights * black light * booklight * bring to light * come to light * fanlight * footlight * gaslight * half-light * headlight * hide one's light under a bushel * lamplight * light at the end of the tunnel * light box, lightbox * light bucket * light globe * Light of the World * lightbulb * lighthouse * ! * moonlight * nightlight * searchlight * see the light * skylight * spotlight * strike a light * sunlight * twilight * Very light * white light

Etymology 2

From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .

Verb

To start (a fire).

We lit the fire to get some heat.

To set fire to; to set burning; to kindle.

She lit her last match.

* Hakewill

if a thousand candles be all lighted from one

* Addison

Absence might cure it, or a second mistress / Light up another flame, and put out this.

To illuminate.

I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night.

* F. Harrison

One hundred years ago, to have lit' this theatre as brilliantly as it is now ' lighted would have cost, I suppose, fifty pounds.

* Dryden

The Sun has set, and Vesper, to supply / His absent beams, has lighted up the sky.

To become ignited; to take fire.

This soggy match will not light .

To attend or conduct with a light; to show the way to by means of a light.

* Landor

His bishops lead him forth, and light him on.

Synonyms

* ignite, kindle, conflagrate * (illuminate) illuminate, light up

Antonyms

* extinguish, put out, quench

Derived terms

* light someone's fire * light up * highlight

Etymology 3

From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) (m), (etyl) (m).

Adjective

(er)

Having light.

Pale in colour.

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the Sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.}}

(of coffee) Served with extra milk or cream.

Synonyms

* (having light) bright * (pale in colour) pale * : white, with milk, with cream

Derived terms

* light-haired * light-skinned

Etymology 4

From (etyl) .

Adjective

(er)

Of low weight; not heavy.

My bag was much lighter once I had dropped off the books.

* Addison

These weights did not exert their natural gravity insomuch that I could not guess which was light or heavy whilst I held them in my hand.

Lightly-built; designed for speed or small loads.

We took a light aircraft down to the city.

(senseid)Gentle; having little force or momentum.

This artist clearly had a light , flowing touch.

Easy to endure or perform.

light duties around the house

* Dryden

Light sufferings give us leisure to complain.

Low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt, etc.

This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it.

Unimportant, trivial, having little value or significance.

I made some light comment, and we moved on.

travelling with no carriages, wagons attached

(obsolete) Unchaste, wanton.

* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , I.i:

Long after lay he musing at her mood, / Much grieu'd to thinke that gentle Dame so light , / For whose defence he was to shed his blood.

* Shakespeare

So do not you; for you are a light girl.

* Shakespeare

A light wife doth make a heavy husband.

Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons.

light''' troops; a troop of '''light horse

Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments; hence, active; nimble; swift.

* Francis Bacon

Unmarried men are best friends, best masters but not always best subjects, for they are light to run away.

(dated) Easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile.

a light''', vain person; a '''light mind

* Tillotson

There is no greater argument of a light and inconsiderate person than profanely to scoff at religion.

Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; lacking dignity or solemnity; frivolous; airy.

* Shakespeare

Seneca can not be too heavy, nor Plautus too light .

* Hawthorne

specimens of New England humour laboriously light and lamentably mirthful

Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or deranged; dizzy; giddy.

* Shakespeare

Are his wits safe? Is he not light of brain?

Not of the legal, standard, or usual weight; clipped; diminished.

light coin

Synonyms

* (of low weight) * (lightly-built) lightweight * (having little force or momentum) delicate, gentle, soft * lite, lo-cal (low in calories), low-alcohol (low in alcohol) * (having little value or significance) inconsequential, trivial, unimportant

Antonyms

* (of low weight) heavy, weighty * (lightly-built) cumbersome, heavyweight, massive * (having little force or momentum) forceful, heavy, strong * calorific (high in calories), fatty (high in fat), strong (high in alcohol) * (having little value or significance) crucial, important, weighty

Derived terms

* light as a feather * lightness

Adverb

(er)

Carrying little.

I prefer to travel light.

Noun

(en noun)

(curling) A stone that is not thrown hard enough.

Verb

(en verb)

(nautical) To unload a ship, or to jettison material to make it lighter

To lighten; to ease of a burden; to take off.

* Spenser

His mailèd habergeon she did undight, / And from his head his heavy burgonet did light .

Derived terms

* lighter

Etymology 5

(etyl)

Verb

To find by chance.

I lit upon a rare book in a second-hand bookseller's.

(archaic) To alight.

She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet.

Synonyms

* (find by chance) chance upon, come upon, find, happen upon, hit upon * (alight) alight, land

Derived terms

* light into * light out

Statistics

* English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----