0
Lawn2llawn2 Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

Difference between lights and lamps

Hi guys,

I have been wondering the difference between lights and lamps. Are there actually differences between lights and lamps? Can i say "Christmas lamps" instead of "Christmas lights"? And what do you call for things hanging on the ceiling? Are they lights or lamps?

Thanks bunch!
  

Top answer

Lights are generally smaller, and refer to the illumination itself, rather than the container. Lamp refers to the container, whether it is illuminated or not. " There is a word "lamplight"!

— AlpheccaStars

  • Lights are generally smaller, and refer to the illumination itself, rather than the container.
  • Lamp refers to the container, whether it is illuminated or not.
  • " There is a word "lamplight"!
  • There are a few cases where they are interchangeable - streetlamps and streetlights are used, so are headlight and headlamp .
  • Lighthouse lamphouse Lamppost lightpost Lightbulb lampbulb Nightlight nightlamp Flashlight Flashlamp Skylight Skylamp We do not string Christmas lamps on a tree.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
Lights are generally smaller, and refer to the illumination itself, rather than the container.

Lamp refers to the container, whether it is illuminated or not.

Somone who has an unlit cigarette and does not have a match asks, "Give me a light."

He would never ask "Give me a lamp."

There is a word "lamplight"!

There are a few cases where they are intercha
0
0
So, there are no exact rules for when to use lights or lamps? depends on how they are usually called? Because once, my teacher told me that lights are fixed, for example on the ceiling; while lamps can be moved, for example table lamps. But then how about Christmas lights; they absolutely can be moved.
0
0
lawn2llawn2my teacher told me that lights are fixed,
Lights are not necessarily fixed. We carry flashlights with us. Nightlights can be easily moved, and so can table lamps.

I decorate my Christmas tree with strings of lights.
0
0
i often thought it was the difference between "to be seen" and "to see", but that also gets fuzzy. Lamps illuminate an area so we can read, work, drive. Lights are to be seen. Traffic lights, Christmas lights. But as is obvious, language has a way of morphing and slithering around obstacles, sometimes becoming more clear, sometimes obfuscating. thus, head lamps/head lights, flashlights, so
0

Related Questions