Word of the Day – Noctilucent

Noctilucent (adj)

nok-til-yoo-sent

(of high-altitude clouds) visible during the short night of the summer.

In noctilucent, the nocti- element comes from Latin nox, meaning “night.” Meanwhile, -lucent derives from Latin lucēre, “to shine,” from lux, meaning “light.” In this way, anything noctilucent is literally a night-light.

Example sentences

“A patch of noctilucent clouds slowly came into view as the sun set behind the mountains..”