Light: a word that opens the eyes

Luke 2:25–32

‘My eyes have seen your salvation… a light for revelation to the Gentiles.’

Each Christmas Eve our village gathers around the beacon as its flame rises into the dark. It is a simple moment, but it captures something ancient: light that guides, reveals, and draws people together. This word card explores where the English word ‘light’ comes from, how it connects to Latin, Greek, and the earliest Germanic forms, and why so many languages use light not only for brightness but also for clarity and understanding.

Luke’s description of Christ as a light for revelation uses the Greek word φῶς, which already carried centuries of meaning. It reached across ideas of radiance, rescue, knowledge, and hope. Tracing this history shows how deeply the theme of light is woven into European languages and into the ways people have spoken about truth.

Each word card set begins with an image that captures the theme of the word. The following cards trace its story: a main word card (or two, if extended), a junior version with a paler border, an etymological breakdown showing how the word travelled through time, and a list of sources. Some sets also include cards for related words or translations across other languages. Together they show where each word came from, how it changed, and what it still carries with it.