Illustrious

How to spell illustrious

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce illustrious

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does illustrious mean?

1. adjectiveFamous and admired for a long record of notable achievement.

Illustrious in a sentence

• The professor capped an illustrious career with a final award.

• The firm hired several illustrious scientists to lead the new lab.

Where does illustrious come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective illustris, meaning 'lighted up', 'bright', and by extension 'distinguished' or 'famous'. It was formed from the verb illustrare, 'to throw light upon' or 'to illuminate', which combined the prefix in- (here acting as an intensifier, thoroughly) with lustrare, 'to make bright' or 'to brighten'. The underlying idea is vividly physical: an illustrious person seems to shine, standing out brilliantly from those around them. English adopted the word in the late sixteenth century, keeping the sense of someone or something radiant with honour and renown. The same Latin root for shining light also gives us 'lustre' and 'illustrate', and noticing that shared family helps explain the double l and the -ustr- cluster that trip up the spelling.

How the word is built

• il- (from Latin in-, here intensive: thoroughly)
• lustr (from lustrare: to light up, make bright)
• -ous (adjective suffix: full of)