shine

See also: Shine and SHINE

English

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) enPR: shīn, IPA^(key): /ʃaɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪn

Etymology 1

From Middle English shinen, schinen (preterite schon, past participle schinen), from Old English scīnan (“to shine, flash; be resplendent”; preterite scān, past participle scinen), from Proto-West Germanic *skīnan (“to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *skīnaną (“to shine”).

Verb

shine (third-person singular simple present shines, present participle shining, simple past and past participle shone or shined)

1. (intransitive, copulative) To emit or reflect light so as to glow.
   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 194:

     The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     ‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’

2. (intransitive, copulative) To reflect light.
3. (intransitive, copulative) To distinguish oneself; to excel.

   My nephew tried other sports before deciding on football, which he shone at right away, quickly becoming the star of his school team.

   • 1867, Frederick William Robinson, No Man's Friend, Harper & Brothers, page 91:

     “ […] I was grateful to you for giving him a year’s schooling—where he shined at it—and for putting him as a clerk in your counting-house, where he shined still more.”

   • 2011 January 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 0 - 0 Man Utd”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     It prompted an exchange of substitutions as Jermain Defoe replaced Palacios and Javier Hernandez came on for Berbatov, who had failed to shine against his former club.

4. (intransitive, copulative) To be effulgent in splendour or beauty.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 10:

     So proud she shyned in her Princely state.

   • 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin, London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:

     Once brightest shined this child of heat and air.

5. (intransitive, copulative) To be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished; to exhibit brilliant intellectual powers.
   • c. 1713, Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects:

     Few are qualified to shine in company; but it in most men's power to be agreeable.

6. (intransitive, copulative) To be immediately apparent.
7. (transitive) To create light with (a flashlight, lamp, torch, or similar).

   I shone my light into the darkness to see what was making the noise.

   • 2007, David Lynn Goleman, Legend: An Event Group Thriller, St. Martin’s Press, published 2008, →ISBN, page 318:

     As Jenks shined the large spotlight on the water, he saw a few bubbles and four long wakes leading away from an expanding circle of blood.

8. (transitive) To cause to shine, as a light or by reflected light.

   in hunting, to shine the eyes of a deer at night by throwing a light on them

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     He [God] doth not rain wealth, nor shine honour and virtues, upon men equally.

Synonyms

• (to emit light): beam, glow, radiate
• (to reflect light): gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, luster, reflect
• (to distinguish oneself): excel
• (to make smooth and shiny by rubbing): wax, buff, polish, furbish, burnish

Coordinate terms

• (to emit light): beam, flash, glare, glimmer, shimmer, twinkle

Derived terms

• beshine
• fix the roof while the sun is shining
• from sea to shining sea
• knight in shining armor
• knight in shining armour
• outshine
• rise and shine
• shine a light on
• shine down on
• shine down upon
• shine light on
• shine off
• shine on
• shiner
• shine through
• shine up
• shining firmoss
• shining ones
• shining tubeshoulder
• where the sun doesn't shine
• where the sun don't shine

 

Translations

to emit light

• Albanian: shëndrit
• Arabic: لَمَعَ (ar) (lamaʕa), وَمَضَ (wamaḍa)

  Hijazi Arabic: لَقّ (lagg), لَمَع (lamaʕ), شَعّ (šaʕʕ)

• Armenian: փայլել (hy) (pʻaylel)
• Aromanian: lutsescu
• Assamese: জিলিকা (zilika), উজলা (uzola)
• Asturian: brillar, llucir
• Azerbaijani: parlamaq (az)
• Belarusian: свяці́ць impf (svjacícʹ), ззяць impf (zzjacʹ)
• Bulgarian: светя́ (bg) impf (svetjá), сия́я (bg) impf (sijája)
• Burmese: ထွန်း (my) (htwan:)
• Catalan: brillar (ca), lluir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 發亮／发亮 (zh) (fāliàng), 照 (zh) (zhào), 發光／发光 (zh) (fāguāng), 輝／辉 (zh) (huī)

• Crimean Tatar: yıltıramaq
• Czech: svítit (cs)
• Danish: skinne, lyse (da), stråle
• Dutch: schijnen (nl), stralen (nl)
• Egyptian: (psḏj), (wbn), (sḥḏ)
• Esperanto: brili (eo), lumi (eo)
• Finnish: loistaa (fi), paistaa (fi), hohtaa (fi), helottaa (fi)
• French: briller (fr), luire (fr)
• Friulian: lusî, sflandorâ, slusorâ, splendi
• Galician: brillar (gl), lucir (gl), relucir (gl), coruscar (gl), resplandecer (gl), raiar (gl)
• Georgian: კაშკაშებს (ḳašḳašebs), ბრწყინავს (brc̣q̇inavs), ბრჭყვინავს (brč̣q̇vinavs), ანათებს (anatebs), ელვარებს (elvarebs), ჩახჩახებს (čaxčaxebs)
• German: leuchten (de), scheinen (de)
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌽 (skeinan), 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (liuhtjan)
• Greek: ακτινοβολώ (el) (aktinovoló)

  Ancient: λάμπω (lámpō), φαίνω (phaínō)

• Guaraní: mimbi, rataindy
• Hebrew: זָרַח (he) (zarákh)
• Hindi: चमकना (camaknā), जगमगाना (hi) (jagamgānā), झिलमिलाना (hi) (jhilmilānā), प्रकाशित करना (prakāśit karnā)
• Hungarian: ragyog (hu), fénylik (hu)
• Icelandic: ljóma (is)
• Ido: lumar (io)
• Interlingua: brillar
• Irish: taitin
• Italian: brillare (it), splendere (it), lucere
• Japanese: 輝く (ja) (かがやく, kagayaku), 光る (ja) (ひかる, hikaru)
• Korean: 비추다 (ko) (bichuda), 비치다 (ko) (bichida), 빛나다 (ko) (binnada)
• Latin: lūceō (la), niteō
• Lithuanian: šviesti
• Luxembourgish: schéngen
• Macedonian: сјае impf (sjae), свети impf (sveti)
• Malay: sinar (ms)
• Malayalam: തിളങ്ങുക (ml) (tiḷaṅṅuka)
• Maori: tīaho
• Nahuatl: tona
• Norwegian: lyse (no)

  Bokmål: skinne (no)

  Nynorsk: skine

• Occitan: lusir (oc), lusejar, brilhar (oc)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: сиꙗти impf (sijati)

• Old East Slavic: сиꙗти impf (sijati)
• Old English: scīnan
• Persian: درخشیدن (fa) (deraxšidan)
• Polish: świecić (pl) impf, błyszczeć (pl) impf, błyszczeć się impf
• Portuguese: brilhar (pt), luzir (pt), resplandecer (pt)
• Quechua: illay, llimphiy, k'anchay (qu)
• Romagnol: brilêr
• Romanian: străluci (ro), luci (ro), lumina (ro)
• Romansch: traglischar, glischar, tarlischar, glischear, targlischier, glüschir
• Russian: свети́ть (ru) impf (svetítʹ), сия́ть (ru) impf (sijátʹ), свети́ться (ru) impf (svetítʹsja) (intransitive)
• Sanskrit: जिघर्ति (jigharti), रोचते (sa) (rocate)
• Sardinian: lúchere, lúgere, luxi
• Scottish Gaelic: deàrrs, deàlraich, boillsg
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сѝјати impf

  Roman: sìjati (sh) impf

• Slovak: svietiť impf
• Slovene: svetiti impf, sijati impf
• Spanish: brillar (es), lucir (es)
• Sumerian: 𒀯 (mul)
• Swedish: lysa (sv), skina (sv), stråla (sv)
• Tajik: дурахшидан (duraxšidan)
• Telugu: ప్రకాశించు (te) (prakāśiñcu)
• Thai: ส่อง (th) (sɔ̀ng), ฉาย (th) (chǎai)
• Tocharian A: luk-
• Tocharian B: luk-
• Turkish: parlamak (tr)
• Udmurt: пиштыны (pištyny)
• Ukrainian: світи́ти impf (svitýty), сяя́ти impf (sjajáty)
• Urdu: چمکنا (camaknā), جگمگانا (jagmagānā), جهلملانا (jhilmilānā)
• Vietnamese: toả sáng, chiếu sáng (vi), soi sáng (vi)
• Welsh: disgleirio (cy)
• Yiddish: שײַנען (shaynen)

to reflect light

• Armenian: փայլել (hy) (pʻaylel)
• Belarusian: блішча́ць impf (bliščácʹ), блі́скаць impf (blískacʹ), зіхаце́ць impf (zixacjécʹ), ззяць impf (zzjacʹ)
• Bulgarian: блестя́ (bg) impf (blestjá), сия́я (bg) impf (sijája)
• Czech: třpytit se impf, blýskat se (cs) impf
• Danish: glimte
• Dutch: glanzen (nl), blinken (nl)
• Finnish: kiiltää (fi), loistaa (fi), hohtaa (fi)
• German: glänzen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: λάμπω (lámpō), φαίνω (phaínō)

• Italian: risplendere (it)
• Japanese: 輝く (ja) (かがやく, kagayaku)
• Korean: 반짝이다 (ko) (banjjagida)
• Latin: nitere
• Macedonian: светка impf (svetka), сјае impf (sjae)
• Malayalam: തിളങ്ങുക (ml) (tiḷaṅṅuka)
• Nahuatl: tona
• Polish: lśnić (pl) impf, błyszczeć (pl) impf, błyszczeć się (pl) impf, błyskotać impf (archaic)
• Portuguese: cintilar (pt)
• Russian: блесте́ть (ru) impf (blestétʹ), сия́ть (ru) impf (sijátʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: deàrrs, deàlraich, boillsg
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: блѝстати impf, сѝјати impf

  Roman: blìstati (sh) impf, sìjati (sh) impf

• Slovak: blyšťať sa impf
• Slovene: blesteti impf, sijati impf
• Swedish: blänka (sv), glänsa (sv), reflektera (sv)
• Telugu: మెరియు (meriyu)
• Ukrainian: блища́ти (uk) impf (blyščáty), ся́яти impf (sjájaty)

to distinguish oneself

• Armenian: փայլել (hy) (pʻaylel)
• Belarusian: блішча́ць impf (bliščácʹ), ззяць impf (zzjacʹ)
• Bulgarian: блестя (bg) (blestja)
• Danish: glimre, brillere
• Dutch: uitblinken (nl)
• Finnish: loistaa (fi), erottua (fi)
• German: glänzen (de), brillieren (de)
• Italian: brillare (it), lucere
• Japanese: 目立つ (ja) (めだつ, medatsu)
• Latin: emineo, excello, anteeo (la), antecedo
• Malayalam: തിളങ്ങുക (ml) (tiḷaṅṅuka)
• Polish: błyszczeć (pl) impf
• Portuguese: sobressair (pt)
• Romanian: străluci (ro)
• Russian: блиста́ть (ru) impf (blistátʹ), сия́ть (ru) impf (sijátʹ)
• Spanish: brillar (es), sobresalir (es)
• Swedish: glänsa (sv), vara lysande (sv)
• Telugu: వెలిగిపోవు (veligipōvu)
• Ukrainian: блища́ти (uk) impf (blyščáty), ся́яти impf (sjájaty)

to be immediately apparent

• Bulgarian: очевиден съм (očeviden sǎm)
• Dutch: voor de hand liggen
• Finnish: paistaa silmään
• Latin: emineo
• Portuguese: sobressair (pt)
• Swedish: lysa i ögonen

ergative: to create light with a flashlight, lamp, torch, etc.

• Greek:

  Ancient: λάμπω (lámpō), φαίνω (phaínō)

• Japanese: 照らす (ja) (てらす, terasu)
• Spanish: alumbrar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} brilar (io)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} menyinari (id), ^{(please verify)} bersinar (id)
• Norman: ^{(please verify)} èrlithe (Jersey)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} straluci

Noun

shine (countable and uncountable, plural shines)

1. Brightness from a source of light.
   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:

     the distant shine of the celestial city

2. Brightness from reflected light.
3. Excellence in quality or appearance; splendour.
4. Shoeshine.
5. Sunshine.
   • 1685, John Dryden, Sylvae:

     be fair or foul, or rain or shine

6. (slang) Moonshine; illicitly brewed alcoholic drink.
7. (cricket) The amount of shininess on a cricket ball, or on each side of the ball.
8. (slang) A liking for a person; a fancy.

   She's certainly taken a shine to you.

9. (archaic, slang) A caper; an antic; a row.

Synonyms

• (brightness from a source of light): effulgence, radiance, radiancy, refulgence, refulgency
• (brightness from reflected light): luster
• (excellence in quality or appearance): brilliance, splendor
• (shoeshine): See shoeshine
• (sunshine): See sunshine
• (slang: moonshine): See moonshine

Derived terms

• anti-shine powder
• come rain or shine
• cookie-shine
• cut a shine
• earthshine
• fireshine
• get one's shine box
• monkeyshine
• rain or shine
• shine box
• shineful
• shininess
• shiny
• spit shine
• spitshine
• take a shine to
• take the shine out of
• through-shine
• wondershine

 

Translations

brightness from a source of light

• Armenian: փայլ (hy) (pʻayl)
• Asturian: brillu m
• Bulgarian: светлина (bg) f (svetlina), сияние (bg) n (sijanie)
• Catalan: brillantor (ca) f, lluentor f, lluïssor f
• Danish: skin (da) n
• Dutch: schijn (nl) f, straling (nl) f
• Finnish: loiste (fi), paiste (fi), hohde (fi), kirkkaus (fi)
• French: éclat (fr) m
• Galician: brillo (gl) m, brillantez (gl) f
• Georgian: სინათლე (sinatle), ნათება (nateba), ბრწყინვალება (brc̣q̇invaleba), კაშკაში (ḳašḳaši), ელვარება (elvareba), ბრჭყვინვა (brč̣q̇vinva), ბრწყინვა (brc̣q̇inva), ჩახჩახი (čaxčaxi)
• German: Schein (de) m
• Hindi: रोशनी (hi) f (rośnī), प्रकाश (hi) m (prakāś)
• Ingrian: äky, lens
• Japanese: 輝き (ja) (kagayaki), 光 (ja) (hikari)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ڕۆشنایی (roşnayî)

• Malayalam: തിളക്കം (ml) (tiḷakkaṁ)
• Polish: blask (pl) m
• Portuguese: brilho (pt) m
• Romanian: strălucire (ro)
• Russian: свет (ru) m (svet), сия́ние (ru) n (sijánije)
• Spanish: brillo (es) m
• Swedish: sken (sv) n
• Telugu: ప్రకాశము (te) (prakāśamu)
• Ukrainian: сві́тло (uk) n (svítlo)

brightness from reflected light

• Armenian: փայլ (hy) (pʻayl)
• Bulgarian: блясък (bg) m (bljasǎk)
• Danish: glans c
• Dutch: glans (nl) m
• Esperanto: poluro (eo)
• Finnish: valo (fi), hohde (fi), loiste (fi)
• Galician: brillo (gl) m, brillantez (gl) f
• German: Glanz (de) m
• Hebrew: בָּרָק (he) m (baráq)
• Japanese: 輝き (ja) (kagayaki)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: بریقە (brîqe)

• Malayalam: തിളക്കം (ml) (tiḷakkaṁ)
• Plautdietsch: Schien f
• Polish: blask (pl) m
• Portuguese: brilho (pt) m
• Romanian: luciu (ro), lustru (ro)
• Russian: блеск (ru) m (blesk), сия́ние (ru) n (sijánije)
• Spanish: brillo (es) m
• Swedish: glans (sv) c
• Telugu: మెరుపు (te) (merupu)
• Ukrainian: блиск (uk) m (blysk), ся́йво n (sjájvo)

excellence in quality or appearance

• Armenian: փայլ (hy) (pʻayl)
• Bulgarian: блясък (bg) m (bljasǎk)
• Danish: brillans c
• Dutch: uitmuntendheid (nl) f, bravoure (nl) f
• Finnish: loistavuus (fi), loisteliaisuus (fi), loistokkuus (fi), loisto (fi)
• German: Brillanz f, Glanz (de) m, Bravour (de) f
• Japanese: 卓越 (ja) (takuetsu)
• Polish: blask (pl) m
• Portuguese: esplendor (pt) m
• Russian: блеск (ru) m (blesk)
• Swedish: finish (sv) c, polish (sv) c
• Ukrainian: блиск (uk) m (blysk)

shoeshine — see shoeshine

sunshine — see sunshine

slang: moonshine — see moonshine

cricket: the amount of shininess on a cricket ball

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Glanz (de) m, ^{(please verify)} Schein (de), m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} lustro (it) m
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 빛 (ko) (bit)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 亮光 (zh) (liàngguāng)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} strălucire (ro) f

Etymology 2

From the noun shine, or perhaps continuing Middle English schinen in its causative uses, from Old English scīn (“brightness, shine”), and also Middle English schenen, from Old English scǣnan (“to render brilliant, make shine”), from Proto-Germanic *skainijaną, causative of *skīnaną (“to shine”).

Verb

shine (third-person singular simple present shines, present participle shining, simple past and past participle shined)

1. (transitive) To cause (something) to shine; put a shine on (something); polish (something).

   He shined my shoes until they were polished smooth and gleaming.

2. (transitive, cricket) To polish a cricket ball using saliva and one’s clothing.

Synonyms

• (to polish): polish, smooth, smoothen

Translations

to polish

• Bulgarian: лъскам (bg) (lǎskam), полирам (bg) (poliram)
• Danish: pudse, polere (da), blanke
• Dutch: opblinken (nl), polieren (nl)
• Finnish: kiillottaa (fi), puleerata (fi)
• German: polieren (de), bohnern (de)
• Japanese: 磨く (ja) (みがく, migaku)
• Latin: tergeo, polio, expolio, levigo
• Maori: whakapiata
• Nahuatl: tona
• Portuguese: lustrar (pt), polir (pt)
• Romanian: lustrui (ro)
• Russian: полирова́ть (ru) (polirovátʹ), чи́стить (ru) (čístitʹ) (shoes)
• Scottish Gaelic: lìomh
• Swedish: blanka (sv), polera (sv), putsa (sv)
• Turkish: parlatmak (tr)

cricket: to polish a cricket ball

Anagrams

• Enshi, Heins, Hines, NIEHS, hsien

Irish

Adjective

shine

1. Lenited form of sine.

Noun

shine

1. Lenited form of sine.

Japanese

Romanization

shine

1. Rōmaji transcription of しね

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

shine

1. Alternative form of schyne (“shin”)

Etymology 2

Verb

shine

1. Alternative form of schinen