luna

noun

1. A luna moth: a member of species Actias luna.

   ““Gee,” whispered Oliver. He sat there staring. “A luna! I never thought I’d see a real luna!””

   “On the previous evening we had discovered with delight a luna with the fabulous moons, one on each pale green wing.”

   “Spray BT on your young oak to protect against gypsy moths, and you wipe out future lunas, cecropias, and everything else on the leaves, along with the pests.”

2. A lunette: a crescent-shaped receptacle, often glass, for holding the (consecrated) host (the bread of communion) upright when exposed in the monstrance.

   “The Bread of Angels is first taken from the tabernacle, where it rests in the luna, and placed upon the altar, covered with a corporal. After genuflecting, the priest puts the luna containing the Blessed Sacrament on its throne—the monstrance—and elevates it […]”

   “This receptacle is called a “luna” or “lunula” (a moon, or a little moon), and has glass on either side, so that the Host may be seen when enclosed therein. […] ¶ […] ¶ The ciborium, the pyx and luna of the ostensorium are blessed with a simpler formula than that used for the chalice, and […] ¶ […] ¶ The chalice, the paten, the luna and the pyx are sacred things, true sacramentals, and are worthy of deepest reverence; for […]”

   “The luna, which is a piece of glass in the shape of a moon, contains the Blessed Sacrament, previously consecrated. The luna is then placed in the middle of the sunburst of the monstrance.”

3. (Hawaii)A foreman on a plantation.

   “There are several reasons why the Hawaiian-born Japanese boys and girls do not take kindly to plantation labor, but one of the chief reasons is the objection to the kind of lunas who oversee the work of the laborers.”

   “[…] haoles could not visualize Chinese or Japanese in positions of authority. And from sad experience, the great plantation owners had discovered that the Americans they could get to serve as lunas were positively no good. Capable Americans expected office jobs and incapable ones were unable to control the Oriental […]”

   “After the day was over I went to the luna to count my day but he would not. Then I went to him the second time and he said he would not put it down.”

   “Capital punishment was outlawed by the government but some plantation managers and luna still delivered lashings and other forms of abuse.”

4. (rare, uncountable)Argent (silver), in the postmedieval practice of blazoning the tinctures of certain sovereigns' (especially British monarchs') coats as planets.

   “4. Luna, a Mantle of Estate, Mars doubled Ermine, ouched Sol, garnished with Strings fastned thereunto fretways dependent, and tasselled of the same. [...] These Arms do belong to the Town of Beckbock in Wales.”

   “8. Tierce in Mantle, first Mars, two Lions passant-guardant in pale, Sol, for Brunswick; 2d Sol, Semi of Hearts proper, a Lion rampant Jupiter, for Lunenburgh; 3d, ente en Point, Mars, an Horse currant Luna, for Saxony.”

   “The third, the Ensign of Ireland, which is, Jupiter, an Harp Sol, stringed Luna.”

5. (obsolete, uncountable)Silver.

name

1. (Roman)The sister of Aurora and Sol; the goddess of the moon; equivalent to the Greek Selene.
2. (poetic)The Earth's Moon.

   “Luna that ne'er shines by day.”

   “He has but little prudence, no apprehension of consequences, and none of that melancholy which in tempraments of Luna and Venus is generally felt, and from which he is saved by the combination of Mars and Mercury.”

   “The different visible shapes of Luna are called her phases.”

   “Lagrange point L1 is the perfect location for humanity's next major space station, the natural gateway to the moon. This one-of-a-kind point in space is located on the direct line between Earth and Luna about 200,000 miles from Earth, or conversely, a mere 39,000 miles above the geometric center of Luna's nearside.”

3. A female given name from Latin.

   “- - - and it so happened, that in one of old Bryan's daughters named Luna, or more familiarly Loony, he perceived, or thought he perceived, some imaginary similarity in form and air to the lovely apparition.”

   “A few seconds later, Luna Lovegood emerged, trailing behind the rest of the class, a smudge of earth on her nose, and her hair tied in a knot on the top of her head.”