As a noun, the natural or artificial brightness that makes things visible. As an adjective, it can mean not heavy, pale in color, or not intense; as a verb, it means to start something burning or to become bright.
From Old English *lēoht* (noun) and *līht* (adjective) meaning “light, bright, not heavy,” from ancient roots connected with brightness. English merged several related forms into the modern word.
‘Light’ bundles two almost opposite ideas: brightness and lack of weight. The shared word hints at how our minds connect seeing clearly with feeling unburdened.
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