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The quality or state of being bright; splendor; luster; brilliancy; clearness. A sudden brightness in his face appear. Crabbe.

. . . is actions above my gifts." Marlowe. I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun. Acts xxxvi. 13.

ed by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow.

in Medusa's head, in the constellation Perseus, remarkable for its periodic variation in brightness.

A photometer for measuring the brightness of stars.

The determination of the brightness of stars, and also of the sun, moon, and planets. --As`tro*pho`to*met"ric*al (#), a.

A sword, so called from its glittering or flashing brightness. [Poetic] Tennyson. Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand. Milton.

Splendor; brightness. [Poetic] Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear. Milton.

The effect of burnishing; gloss; brightness; luster. Crashaw.

Whiteness; brightness; (as applied to moral conditions) usullied purity; innocence. [Obs.] Nor yor unquestioned integrity Shall e'er be sullied with one taint or spot That may take from your innocence and candor. Massinger.

Clearness; brightness; splendor. Floods, in whose more than crystal clarity, Innumerable virgin graces row. Beaumont.

Lacking clearness, brightness, or luster. "A cloudy diamond." Boyle.

The state or quality of being clear or bright; brightness; conspicuosness. [R.] Chapman.

To be overpowered by light; to be confused by excess of brightness. An overlight maketh the eyes dazzle. Bacon. I dare not trust these eyes; They dance in mists, and dazzle with surprise. Dryden.

le; to vanish; -- often with out or away. Blemishes may die away and disappear amidst the brightness. Spectator.

Having eyes wanting brightness, liveliness, or vivacity. Shak.

ess; drowsiness; bluntness; obtuseness; dimness; want of luster; want of vividness, or of brightness. [Written also dulness.] And gentle dullness ever loves a joke. Pope.

Lacking brightness or clearness, as a color. [R.] Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color. De Foe. Deaf and dumb. See Deaf-mute. -- Dumb ague, or Dumb chill, a form of intermittent fever which has no well-defined "chill." [U.S.] -- Dumb animal, any animal except man; -- usually restricted to a domestic quad…

The state of being effulgent; extreme brilliancy; a flood of light; great luster or brightness; splendor. The effulgence of his glory abides. Milton. The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn. Beattie.

; as, emerald green crystals. -- Emerald Isle, a name given to Ireland on account of the brightness of its verdure. -- Emerald spodumene, or Lithia emerald. (Min.) See Hiddenite. -- Emerald nickel. (Min.) See Zaratite.