English
lumirubin
Lumirubin comes from Latin lūmen ‘light’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léwksmn̥1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksmən1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūmen2‘light’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016lumirubin2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin lumen
- 2 Wiktionary, English lumirubin
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, The Biological Effects of Bilirubin Photoisomers: “Its binding constant to albumin was much lower when…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, Latin lumen‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léwksmn̥Wiktionary, Latin lumenreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksmənWiktionary, Latin lumenreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūmenWiktionary, English lumirubin‘light’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016lumirubinWiktionary, English lumirubin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, The Biological Effects of Bilirubin Photoisomers: “Its binding constant to albumin was much lower when…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
light, low, los, link, lucy, ounce, lea, lunar, luna, lux, translucent, lucid, lynx, luce, loach, lune, leucine, lum, luminary, 73 more
through Latin lūmen ‘light’
illumination, illuminate, lumen, luminous, luminosity, lumia, luminescent, luminal, 18 more
Today it means
noun A structural isomer of bilirubin, formed during phototherapy used to treat neonatal jaundice.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “lumirubin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin lumen. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewk- / lumirubin