Splendor
/ˈsplɛn.dər/noun
Great brightness, beauty, or magnificence.
Did you know?Splendor comes from Latin splendor, meaning “brightness” or “glare,” from splendere, “to shine,” so the word originally described radiance before it became a synonym for grandeur.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spel-
“to shine, gleam, or glitter”
Latin
Latin
splendere
“to shine, glitter, be bright”
Latin
Latin
splendor
“brightness, brilliance, radiance”
Old French
Old French
splendor
“brightness, magnificence”
Middle English
English
splendour
“brightness, brilliance; magnificence”
Modern English
English
splendor
“great brightness, beauty, or magnificence”