Thunderbolts and Lighting!
Fulgurate: To Emit Vivid Flashes, Like Lightning
… and a bonus discussion of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Latin word fulgēre, which means to shine, gives us a number of interesting words built on the ful- root. Among them is fulgurate, which seems to have come into use in the mid-to late 1600s and means to emit vivid flashes of light, like lightning. It can be used literally or, as might be expected with a dazzling word like this, figuratively (which it’s known for especially in the medical field, where shooting pains were sometimes described as fulgurating, darting like lightning through the body).
Other ful- words existed prior to the 1600s. Fulgent — still considered a valid (non-obsolete) adjective with listed usages dating back to 1432 — means shining brightly, brilliantly, glittering, etc. Similarly in meaning, we still have fulgid, fulgurant, and even fulgorous while some others are now considered obsolete (e.g., fulgur and fulgurance).
Rock & Roll Connection
As if fulgurate — which could mean something like shooting lightning out of your fingertips — wasn’t already “rock and roll” enough for you, here’s another interesting thought: One of these ful- words that I found particularly interesting was fulgurator, a name for a priest who…
