candle
/ˈkæn.dəl/ noun, verb
Forms candles candling candled
- noun A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin. “light a candle”
- noun The protruding, removable portion of a filter, particularly a water filter.
- noun (obsolete) A unit of luminous intensity, now replaced by the SI unit candela.
- noun (forestry) A fast-growing, light-colored, upward-growing shoot on a pine tree in the spring. As growth slows in summer, the shoot darkens and is no longer conspicuous.
- noun (Anglicanism, idiomatic) Indicates how high or low church something is by height on the candle. “That vicar used to be an evangelical, but she's crept up the candle in recent years.”
- verb (embryology, transitive) To observe the growth of an embryo inside (an egg), using a bright light source.
- verb (pottery, transitive) To dry (greenware) prior to the firing cycle, setting the kiln at 200° Celsius until all water is removed from the greenware.
- verb (transitive) To check (an item, such as an envelope) by holding it between a light source and the eye.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English candel, from Old English candel (“candle”), borrowed from Latin candēla (“candle”), from Latin candeō (“be white, bright, shining”, verb); see candid. Doublet of candela and chandelle.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A slender, cylindrical body of tallow, containing a wick composed of loosely twisted linen of cotton threads, and used to furnish light.
- noun That which gives light; a luminary.
Etymology [OE. candel, candel, AS, candel, fr. L. candela a (white) light made of wax or tallow, fr. candëre to be white. See Candid, and cf. Chandler, Cannel, Kindle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “candle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details