also: らんぷ
noun
Refers to a Western-style oil or kerosene lamp, as opposed to traditional Japanese lighting. The reading ようとう is literary or historical; in everyday speech ランプ is far more common.
See also: ランプ
明治時代、洋灯が家庭に普及し始めた。
In the Meiji period, Western-style lamps began to spread into households.
古い資料には「洋灯」と書いて「ランプ」と読ませる例がある。
In old documents, there are cases where 洋灯 is written and read as ランプ.
Gikun reading; the katakana loanword ランプ is the usual modern word for lamp.
Traditional kanji form using 燈; now uncommon.
Compound of 洋 (Western) and 灯/燈 (lamp). Coined in the Meiji era to distinguish Western-style lamps from traditional Japanese lighting.