refulgent — an adjective meaning “shiny” or “brilliant”
refulgente — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning
These two words come to us from Latin’s fulgēre which means “to shine.” The cognate duo of “fulgent” in English and “fulgente” in Spanish also come from that Latin verb. “Fulgent” and “fulgente” essentially mean the same as “refulgent” and “refulgente.” If something is “fulgent” then it is dazzlingly bright — in other words, it is “shiny.”
Fulgēre gave rise to fulgur in Latin which led to the Spanish “fulgurar” and the English “fulgurate” which means “to flash like lightning.” Lightning is shiny, so you can understand the progression of the word. Medical terminology uses forms of “fulgurate” to refer to things that pain us as if lightning is piercing us or to procedures that use electricity as treatment.
An archaic word in English is “fulgor.” It means “splendor” or “dazzling brightness.” Its exact cognate of “fulgor” is still used in Spanish.
In the well-known movie “Sweet Home Alabama,” there are “fulgurites.” These are formed when lightning hits the sand. The movie took liberties with how great the “fulgurites” turn out, but I use it as a well-known pop-cultural example of them.
With Christmas just around the corner, many of you may have stars topping your trees. I do. Mine lights up. It is “refulgent.” A star on a tree represents the star of Bethlehem, which must have been quite “refulgent” to lead seekers from far away. Religious or not, “refulgent” is a good word for this time of year. Even the sunlight bouncing off the snow is extra “refulgent” today.
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Until next time. Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad. May your holidays be filled with “refulgence.”
Tammy Marshall
Refulgent