blue light

== English == === Noun === blue light (countable and uncountable, plural blue lights) (historical, chiefly nautical) A mixture of chemicals (including nitre, sulfur and antimony) used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for night-time signaling and general illumination. [from 18th c.] (US, colloquial, now historical) A New England federalist, who opposed the Anglo-American War of 1812; (loosely), a federalist. [from 19th c.] (countable) A flashing light, usually fitted to an emergency vehicle. [from 20th c.] Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blue,‎ light. ==== Usage notes ==== The original chemical mixtures burned with a blue flame. Later versions omitted any coloring agents, producing a bright white light, but retained the name by convention. ==== Synonyms ==== (chemicals): Bengal fire, Bengal light (flashing lights): cherry light, lightbar ==== Hypernyms ==== light ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== References ==== Blue light (pyrotechnic signal) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Emergency vehicle lighting on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Verb === blue light (third-person singular simple present blue lights, present participle blue lighting, simple past and past participle blue lighted or blue lit) (informal, intransitive) To travel quickly in a police or ambulance vehicle with the lightbar (and possibly the siren) activated. ==== Hypernyms ==== See Thesaurus:move quickly ==== References ==== “blue light”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. === Anagrams === light blue