ex luce lucellum
Preserved but no longer current.
A gain or small profit out of light. It was originally said of the old window-tax, and when Lowe in 1871, proposed to tax lucifer matches, he suggested that the boxes should be labelled Ex luce lucellum.
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 “ex luce lucellum” mean?
A gain or small profit out of light. It was originally said of the old window-tax, and when Lowe in 1871, proposed to tax lucifer matches, he suggested that the boxes should be labelled Ex luce lucellum.
Is “ex luce lucellum” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.