The Lady of the Lamp
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A name given to Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) because she went the rounds of the hospital wards in the Crimea carrying a lighted lamp.
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 “The Lady of the Lamp” mean?
A name given to Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) because she went the rounds of the hospital wards in the Crimea carrying a lighted lamp.
Is “The Lady of the Lamp” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.