Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: alihtan, from lihtan 'to alight'

alight

2 verb
     
alight2 [intransitive] formal
1 if a bird or insect alights on something, it stops flying and stands on it [= land]
2 to step out of a vehicle after a journey
alight from
She alighted from the train at 74th Street.

alight on/upon something

phrasal verb
to suddenly think of or notice something or someone:
His mind alighted on several possible answers.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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