candle
pronunciation
How to pronounce candle in British English:
UK [ˈkændl]
How to pronounce candle in American English:
US [ˈkændl]
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- Noun:
- stick of wax with a wick in the middle
- the basic unit of luminous intensity adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites; equal to 1/60 of the luminous intensity per square centimeter of a black body radiating at the temperature of 2,046 degrees Kelvin
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- Verb:
- examine eggs for freshness by holding them against a light
Word Origin
- candle
- candle: [OE] Candle is one of the earliest English borrowings from Latin. It probably arrived with Christianity at the end of the 6th century, and is first recorded in a gloss from around the year 700. Latin candēla was a derivative of the verb candēre ‘be white, glow’, also the source of English candid and related to incandescent and incense. Candelabrum [19] is a Latin derivative. The Christian feast of Candlemas [OE] (February 2) gets its name from the blessing of church candles on that day.=> candelabrum, candid, incandescent, incense
- candle (n.)
- Old English candel "lamp, lantern, candle," an early ecclesiastical borrowing from Latin candela "a light, torch, candle made of tallow or wax," from candere "to shine," from PIE root *kand- "to glow, to shine, to shoot out light" (cognates: Sanskrit cand- "to give light, shine," candra- "shining, glowing, moon;" Greek kandaros "coal;" Welsh cann "white;" Middle Irish condud "fuel"). Candles were unknown in ancient Greece (where oil lamps sufficed), but common from early times among Romans and Etruscans. Candles on birthday cakes seems to have been originally a German custom. To hold a candle to originally meant "to help in a subordinate capacity," from the notion of an assistant or apprentice holding a candle for light while the master works (compare Old English taporberend "acolyte"). To burn the candle at both ends is recorded from 1730.
Example
- 1. Natasha lifted herself slightly and blew toward the candle .
- 2. The breeze flared the candle .
- 3. Light a candle and meditate .
- 4. Light a candle and sit comfortably in candlelight .
- 5. The process uses a long , hollow cone-shaped candle .