verlichten

Verlichten is a Dutch verb meaning to illuminate or to light up a space, and it is also used figuratively to mean enlightening or clarifying someone’s understanding. In everyday language it can refer to turning on lamps or other light sources to brighten an area, as well as to making something easier to understand or more comprehensible.

The noun verlichting refers to lighting in a physical sense, such as straatverlichting (street lighting) or interieurverlichting (interior lighting). In a cultural and historical context, capitalized Verlichting denotes the Enlightenment, the broad European intellectual movement of roughly the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, science, and secular governance. The two senses are connected by the underlying image of imparting light or knowledge.

Morphologically, verlichten is formed with the prefix ver- attached to the base licht (to light). The verb inflects relatively regularly in present tense: ik verlicht, jij verlicht, hij verlicht, wij verlichten, jullie verlichten, zij verlichten. The past participle is verlicht, used in perfect tenses (de ruimte is verlicht; hij heeft de kamer verlicht).

In practice, verlichten appears in contexts ranging from practical tasks—installing or adjusting lighting in homes and public spaces—to metaphorical uses that describe the act of making ideas clearer or more accessible. The term is common in architectural, design, and philosophical writings, where both senses of light and insight are relevant.