18. Not of the legal, standard, or usual weight; clipped; diminished; as, light coin.
19. Loose; sandy; easily pulverized; as, a light soil. Light cavalry, Light horse (Mil.), light-armed soldiers mounted on strong and active horses. — Light eater, one who eats but little. — Light infantry, infantry soldiers selected and trained for rapid evolutions. — Light of foot. (a) Having a light step. (b) Fleet. — Light of heart, gay, cheerful. — Light oil (Chem.), the oily product, lighter than water, forming the chief part of the first distillate of coal tar, and consisting largely of benzene and toluene. — Light sails (Naut.), all the sails above the topsails, with, also, the studding sails and flying jib. Dana. — Light sleeper, one easily wakened. — Light weight, a prize fighter, boxer, wrestler, or jockey, who is below a standard medium weight. Cf. Feather weight, under Feather. [Cant] — To make light of, to treat as of little consequence; to slight; to disregard. — To set light by, to undervalue; to slight; to treat as of no importance; to despise.
LIGHT
Light, adv.
Defn: Lightly; cheaply. Hooker.
LIGHT
Light, v. t. Etym: [See Light not heavy, and cf. Light to alight, and
Lighten to make less heavy.]
Defn: To lighten; to ease of a burden; to take off. [Obs.]
From his head the heavy burgonet did light. Spenser.
LIGHT Light, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lighted or Lit (p. pr. & vb. n. Lighting.] Etym: [AS. lihtan to alight orig., to relieve (a horse) of the rider's burden, to make less heavy, fr. liht light. See Light not heavy, and cf. Alight, Lighten to make light.]
1. To dismount; to descend, as from a horse or carriage; to alight; - - with from, off, on, upon, at, in. When she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. Gen. xxiv. 64. Slowly rode across a withered heath, And lighted at a ruined inn. Tennyson.
2. To feel light; to be made happy. [Obs.] It made all their hearts to light. Chaucer.
3. To descend from flight, and rest, perch, or settle, as a bird or
insect.
[The bee] lights on that, and this, and tasteth all. Sir. J. Davies.
On the tree tops a crested peacock lit. Tennyson.