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Thick vs Light - What's the difference?

thick | light |

As an adjective thick

is relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.

As an adverb thick

is in a thick manner.

As a noun thick

is the thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.

As a verb thick

is (archaic|transitive) to thicken.

As a proper noun light is

.

thick

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
  • * {{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. […].}}
  • Measuring a certain number of units in this dimension.
  • Heavy in build; thickset.
  • * 2007 , James T. Knight, Queen of the Hustle
    • As she twirled around in front of the mirror admiring how the dress showed off her thick booty, she felt like a princess in a children's storybook.
  • Densely crowded or packed.
  • * , 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.}}
  • Having a viscous consistency.
  • Abounding in number.
  • Impenetrable to sight.
  • Difficult to understand, or poorly articulated.
  • (informal) Stupid.
  • (informal) Friendly or intimate.
  • * T. Hughes
    • We have been thick ever since.
  • Deep, intense, or profound.
  • * Shakespeare
    • thick sleep

    Synonyms

    * (relatively great in extent from one surface to another) broad * (measuring a certain number of units in this dimension) * (heavy in build) chunky, solid, stocky, thickset * (densely crowded or packed) crowded, dense, packed * (having a viscous consistency) glutinous, viscous * (abounding in number) overflowing, swarming, teeming * (impenetrable to sight) dense, opaque, solid * (sense) unclear * dense, dumb (informal), stupid, thick as pigshit (taboo slang), thick as two short planks (slang) * (sense) chummy (qualifier), close, close-knit, friendly, pally (informal), intimate, tight-knit * great, extreme * See also

    Antonyms

    * (relatively great in extent from one surface to another) slim, thin * (heavy in build) slender, slight, slim, svelte, thin * (densely crowded or packed) sparse * (having a viscous consistency) free-flowing, runny * (abounding in number) * (impenetrable to sight) thin, transparent * (sense) clear, lucid * brainy (informal), intelligent, smart * (sense) unacquainted

    Derived terms

    * blood is thicker than water * thick and thin * thick as a brick * thick as a plank * thick as thieves * thick as two short planks * thicket * thickhead * thickish * thickly * thicko * thickness * thickset * thick-skinned * thick-un * thicky

    Adverb

    (er)
  • In a thick manner.
    • Snow lay thick on the ground.
  • Thickly.
    • Bread should be sliced thick to make toast.
  • Frequently; in great numbers.
    • The arrows flew thick and fast around us.

    Noun

    (-)
  • The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.
    • It was mayhem in the thick of battle.
  • * Dryden
    • He through a little window cast his sight / Through thick of bars, that gave a scanty light.
  • A thicket.
  • * Drayton
    • gloomy thicks
  • * Spenser
    • Through the thick they heard one rudely rush.
  • A stupid person; a fool.
  • * 2014 , Joseph O'Connor, The Thrill of It All (page 100)
    • If there was doctorates in bollocksology and scratching yourself in bed, the two of you'd be professors by now. Pair of loafing, idle thicks .

    Derived terms

    * in the thick of * through thick and thin

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (archaic) To thicken.
    • The nightmare Life-in-death was she, / Who thicks man's blood with cold. — Coleridge.
    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 ----