What does “lume” mean in European Portuguese?

Lume is the everyday European Portuguese word for fire in its useful sizes: the flame on the hob, a fire in the grate, the light for a cigarette. Recipes written in Portugal say levar ao lume — put it on the heat — and em lume brando, “on a low flame.” Brazilian recipes give the same instruction with fogo.

The word descends from Latin lumen, “light,” which explains its second life: vir a lume means to come out in print, and ter lume no olho describes a quick, perceptive person. The practical version is shorter — tens lume? is how you ask a stranger in Lisbon for a light.