'luminescent' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'luminescere', where 'lumen' meant 'light' and the suffix '-escent' meant 'becoming'.

'luminescent' changed from the Late Latin form 'luminescens' (present participle of 'luminescere') and was influenced by the 19th-century coining of 'luminescence'; it eventually entered modern English as 'luminescent'.

Initially, it meant 'becoming light' or 'beginning to emit light', but over time it evolved into its current specific sense of 'emitting light not caused by heat'.