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Thunderbolt vs Lighting - What's the difference?

thunderbolt | lighting |

As nouns the difference between thunderbolt and lighting

is that thunderbolt is a flash of lightning accompanied by a crash of thunder while lighting is the equipment used to provide illumination; the illumination so provided.

thunderbolt

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A flash of lightning accompanied by a crash of thunder.
  • (figuratively) An event that is terrible, horrific or unexpected.
  • * Dryden
    • the Scipios' worth, those thunderbolts of war
  • Vehement threatening or censure; especially, ecclesiastical denunciation; fulmination.
  • * Hakewill
    • He severely threatens such with the thunderbolt of excommunication.
  • (soccer) A very powerful shot.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=February 5 , author=Michael Kevin Darling , title=Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Substitute Niko Kranjcar's injury-time thunderbolt gave Tottenham a dramatic win over Bolton.}}
  • (paleontology) A belemnite, or thunderstone.
  • (heraldiccharge) A charge in the form of two joined bundles with four rays of lightning emerging from them, resembling the thunderbolt of Jupiter.

    • Derived terms

    * thunderbolt beetle

    See also

    * thunderclap

    lighting

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia lighting) (en noun)
  • The equipment used to provide illumination; the illumination so provided.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Yesterday’s fuel , passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.
  • The act of activating such equipment, or of igniting a flame etc.
  • * 2012 , Andrew Pessin, Uncommon Sense (page 142)
    • We've observed plenty of strikings followed by lightings , so even if we should not say that the strikings cause the lightings, isn't it at least reasonable to predict, and to believe, that the next time we strike a match in similar conditions, it will be followed by a lighting?
  • The process of annealing metals.
    • (Webster 1913)