entry
lunar
/ˈluːnər/Relating to, resembling, or influenced by the Moon
From Latin lun (moon).
from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -is (suffix forming adjectives).
from Old French lunaire (15c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Latin lunaris "of the moon,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French lunaire (15c.)
from Latin lunaris "of the moon,"
+1 more sourcefrom Latin lunaris "of the moon,"
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -is (suffix forming adjectives).
from Old French lunaire (15c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Latin lunaris "of the moon,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French lunaire (15c.)
from Latin lunaris "of the moon,"
+1 more sourcefrom Latin lunaris "of the moon,"
+1 more sourcePicture the Moon as a bright, curved object rather than merely a glowing disk: that crescent shape is part of the ancient story behind Latin lūna, the source of lunar. Latin speakers used lūnāris for anything belonging to the Moon, and the word traveled through Old French lunaire before appearing in Middle English in the early 15th century, initially meaning “crescent-shaped.” The same lunar family produced lunatic, because medieval Europeans believed the Moon could disturb the mind—especially during a full moon—and it also gave anatomy the lunate bone, named for its half-moon shape. In older cosmology, Aristotle’s world divided at the Moon: everything sublunary, literally “under the Moon,” was mortal and changeable, while the heavens above were supposedly perfect and indestructible. So when you call something lunar, you are carrying around a tiny history of moonlight, medieval medicine, and an entire universe arranged in celestial layers.
The Story
Picture the Moon as a bright, curved object rather than merely a glowing disk: that crescent shape is part of the ancient story behind Latin lūna, the source of lunar. Latin speakers used lūnāris for anything belonging to the Moon, and the word traveled through Old French lunaire before appearing in Middle English in the early 15th century, initially meaning “crescent-shaped.” The same lunar family produced lunatic, because medieval Europeans believed the Moon could disturb the mind—especially during a full moon—and it also gave anatomy the lunate bone, named for its half-moon shape. In older cosmology, Aristotle’s world divided at the Moon: everything sublunary, literally “under the Moon,” was mortal and changeable, while the heavens above were supposedly perfect and indestructible. So when you call something lunar, you are carrying around a tiny history of moonlight, medieval medicine, and an entire universe arranged in celestial layers.
Modern Usage
Extremely high, as if floating in outer space
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry describing someone extremely high as “lunar”
Kin & Kindred
From 'lun'·moon; crescent shape
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary