'Incandescent light bulb' definitions:

Definition of 'Incandescent light bulb'

From: GCIDE
  • Incandescent \In`can*des"cent\, a. [L. incandecens, -entis, p. pr. of incandescere to become warm or hot; pref. in- in + candescere to become of a glittering whiteness, to become red hot, incho. fr. candere to be of a glittering whiteness: cf. F. incandescent. See Candle.] White, glowing, or luminous, with intense heat; as, incandescent carbon or platinum; hence, clear; shining; brilliant. [1913 Webster]
  • Holy Scripture become resplendent; or, as one might say, incandescent throughout. --I. Taylor. [1913 Webster]
  • Incandescent lamp, Incandescent light, {Incandescent light bulb} (Elec.), a kind of lamp in which the light is produced by a thin filament of conducting material, now usually tungsten, but originally carbon, contained in a vacuum or an atmosphere of inert gas within a glass bulb, and heated to incandescence by an electric current. It was inventerd by Thomas Edison, and was once called the Edison lamp; -- called also incandescence lamp, and glowlamp. This is one of the two most common sources of electric light, the other being the fluorescent light, fluorescent lamp or fluorescent bulb. [1913 Webster +PJC]