Alights

/əˈlaɪts/ verb

Definition

Third person singular present tense of alight; to descend and come to rest on something.

Etymology

From Old English 'alihtan' with '-s' forming third person singular present tense. The 's' ending shows modern English's way of conjugating regular verbs in the present tense.

Kelly Says

'The butterfly alights on the flower'—this simple sentence shows how English preserves old Germanic vocabulary. Most Romance languages lost words for this delicate action and just say 'lands' instead.

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