Esther Hay (asker) Feb 4, 2010:

lichtmolentje Ik ben toch maar voor 'lichtmolentje' gegaan, ondanks de andere betekenis die 'lichtmolen' heeft. Het is voor op een verpakking, dus consumenten zullen duidelijk zien wat voor soort lichtmolentje het is. Bedankt voor het meedenken allemaal!

Iris Shalev Feb 4, 2010:

lichtmolentje! I'm in favour of 'lichtmolentje'! I think in this case you can be creative... I've spent some time looking, but there doesn't seem to be a word for this in Dutch at all. The closest thing I saw was something called a 'lichtdraaier' - but that displays lit-up words (somehow). I think 'lichtmolentje' sounds good and it's easy to imagine what it looks like. My children have been playing lately with balls that have little lights in them that light up when you bounce them. But there doesn't seem to be a word for them. 'Ball with little lights that light up when you bounce it' is what we call them. Time to invent a new word! :)

sindy cremer Feb 3, 2010:

I rather like your "lichtmolentje"... :) So it doesn't have loads of Ghits ... welll... I can picture what it is...!!

Max Nuijens Feb 3, 2010:

homology Actually, my reasoning is based on homology, as there is a diversity of glow sticks and magic lights, a broad evolutionary range of things. The spinner is more sophisticated, because there is something spinning inside causing a special light effect rather than just a glowing beam. The spinner is also a ball and not a rod or stick. I am sure there is a great variety of forms, descending from a common ancestor.

Max Nuijens Feb 3, 2010:

analogy I am not so sure any translation suitable for exactly your toy may be found on the Internet. Often toy names go untranslated. Perhaps you will be the first to coin the new standard in Dutch! I found that the toy is called "spinner", "magic spinner" or "glow stick", depending on brand and model. A possible source of analogy could be "lichtzwaard", a Star Wars toy. Along these lines you may opt for "lichtstaaf" (google pictures) "lichtbol", "lichtbal", "lichtkegel", possibly adding "magische" to any of these.