Abrupt endings are often naught. Another slightly lesser seen Latin root for light is “lustr-”, or in true spirit of etymology in being totally unrelated to Lucifer, “lust-“. It means “to shine”. When you shed light upon something, you illustrate it. You become worthy of people shining light upon you, you are illustrious.
That is why the shining quality of a substance is called its lustre. Causing utter disappointment though, the substance that may shine your teeth, and marketed as Listerine, is actually named after an English surgeon, Joseph Lister.
Light has another root in Greek, as “photo-”, which gives us common words like photosynthesis, photography and, well, photo. Smallest particle of light is then called a photon. If something breaks down when exposed to light, like some people before their coffee in the morning, it’s called photolysis. And if you still manage to look good in those photos taken during harsh early mornings, it maybe because you radiate your own light, making the capturer’s job easier and you are photogenic.
Oddly enough, photography has never been about light. It has always been about darkness, dark chambers (which literally means a camera) and, true to the saying, sight.
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