Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small portable lamp usually powered by batteries.
  • noun A brief brilliant flood of light from a photographic lamp.
  • noun A bright light, as of a signal lamp, that flashes at regular intervals.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A light so arranged as to emit sudden brilliant gleams, lasting but a short time: used for military signals and in lighthouses. See lighthouse.
  • noun A preparation emitting when ignited a sudden and very brilliant light, used in taking instantaneous photographs at night or in a room insufficiently lighted by natural light, etc. It usually consists chiefly of a magnesium powder, sometimes in combination with guncotton.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a portable battery-powered electric lamp, small enough to be held in one hand; -- it is most commonly cylindrical, but other forms are also made. It is called in Britain a torch

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US, Canada A battery-powered hand-held lightsource.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small portable battery-powered electric lamp

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

flash + light

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