ancient lights
Preserved but no longer current.
A sign put up on a building to show the owner thereof has a right to the light coming from adjacent property, and consequently, no building may be erected there without his consent, if it would interfere with his light. By the Prescription Act of 1832 a light is ancient if it has been uninterrupted for a period of twenty years.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “ancient lights” mean?
A sign put up on a building to show the owner thereof has a right to the light coming from adjacent property, and consequently, no building may be erected there without his consent, if it would interfere with his light. By the Prescription Act of 1832 a light is ancient if it has been uninterrupted for a period of twenty years.
Is “ancient lights” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.