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illustre

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illustre¹

Where it comes from

From Middle French illustre (French illustre), from Latin illūstris (“bright, shining, brilliant, lustrous; clear, lucid; illustrious, distinguished, famous”), from illūstrō (“to illustrate”).

adjective more illustre · most illustre

  1. obsolete Synonym of illustrious.

    Similar: illustrious

illustre²

Where it comes from

From Middle English illustren, from Middle French illustrer (French illustrer), from Latin illūstrāre (“to illustrate”).

verb illustres · illustring · illustred

  1. obsolete, transitive To illuminate (something). But, as the Phœnix on my Front doth gliſter, / Thou ſhalt the Finials of my Frame illuſtre.
  2. obsolete, transitive To make (someone) illustrious.

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Cite this
MLA

"illustre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/illustre. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

illustre. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/illustre

Chicago

"illustre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/illustre.

BibTeX
@misc{illustre_2026,
  title = {illustre},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/illustre},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}