alumbrar

To light up or illuminate — la luna alumbraba el camino — and, in a distinct but well-established sense, to give birth: alumbró un niño sano. The birth sense is more formal/literary than dar a luz, which is the everyday equivalent.

• Una sola vela alumbraba toda la habitación. — A single candle lit up the whole room.
• La farola alumbra la calle toda la noche. — The streetlamp lights up the street all night.
• Alumbró a su primer hijo en casa. — She gave birth to her first child at home.

Overusing alumbrar for 'give birth' in casual conversation — dar a luz is what people actually say day to day; alumbrar in that sense belongs to more formal or literary registers.

Often confused with iluminar.