the visual property of something that shines with reflected light
<noun.attribute>
Luster \Lus"ter\ Lustre \Lus"tre\, n. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.] A period of five years; a lustrum.
Both of us have closed the tenth luster. --Bolingbroke.
Luster \Lus"ter\, Lustre \Lus"tre\, n. [F. lustre; cf. It. lustro; both fr. L. lustrare to purify, go about (like the priests at the lustral sacrifice), traverse, survey, illuminate, fr. lustrum a purificatory sacrifice; perh. akin to E. loose. But lustrare to illuminate is perhaps a different word, and akin to L. lucere to be light or clear, to shine. See {Lucid}, and cf. {Illustrious}, {Lustrum}.] 1. Brilliancy; splendor; brightness; glitter.
The right mark and very true luster of the diamond. --Sir T. More.
The scorching sun was mounted high, In all its luster, to the noonday sky. --Addison.
Note: There is a tendency to limit the use of luster, in this sense, to the brightness of things which do not shine with their own light, or at least do not blaze or glow with heat. One speaks of the luster of a diamond, or of silk, or even of the stars, but not often now of the luster of the sun, a coal of fire, or the like.
2. Renown; splendor; distinction; glory.
His ancestors continued about four hundred years, rather without obscurity than with any great luster. --Sir H. Wotton.
3. A candlestick, chandelier, girandole, or the like, generally of an ornamental character. --Pope.
4. (Min.) The appearance of the surface of a mineral as affected by, or dependent upon, peculiarities of its reflecting qualities.
Note: The principal kinds of luster recognized are: metallic, adamantine, vitreous, resinous, greasy, pearly, and silky. With respect to intensity, luster is characterized as splendent, shining, glistening, glimmering, and dull.
5. A substance which imparts luster to a surface, as graphite and some of the glazes.
6. A fabric of wool and cotton with a lustrous surface, -- used for women's dresses.
{Luster ware}, earthenware decorated by applying to the glazing metallic oxides, which acquire brilliancy in the process of baking.
Luster \Lus"ter\, Lustre \Lus"tre\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Lustred}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Lustering}, or {Lustring}.] To make lustrous. [R. & Poetic]
Flooded and lustered with her loosened gold. --Lowell.
Lustre \Lus"tre\, n. Same as {Luster}.
It promised a 30 per cent cash rebate for work-related child care plus 150,000 new child-care places. But the lustre of the package is slowly fading as the costs it would involve emerge.
Great sympathy was also extended with the assassination of her brother-in-law, Senator Robert F Kennedy, in 1968. Some of that lustre was lost when she married Mr Onassis later in the same year and spent much time outside the US.
Even if, as the Japanese banks insist, they suffer no long term damage from the decline in their share prices, they will not soon recover the lustre of the 1980s.
No Poppaea has everything; this one lacks the 'animal' lustre that great voices finely used can shed on the drama.
For Mr Hasslauer and others, the blue chips are unlikely to recover their lustre for some time, so the emphasis should be on the cyclicals and second tier shares.
There is the merest blush of pink and an evenness of lustre.
Then they changed strategy 15 times." Many believe Bloomingdale's, often described as Federated's "crown jewel," has also lost some of its lustre. Mr. Questrom disputed this, calling the chain "the most exciting in the world."
Tsitskaridze's dance is fluent, with beautiful physical manners bringing lustre to the simplest academic step.
Suspect new millionaires, like Alan Bond, borrowed recklessly to build up prestigious art collections which they hoped would add lustre to their business empires.