candle

Etymology

From Middle English candel, from Old English candel (“candle”), from Latin candēla (“candle”), from Latin candeō (“be white, bright, shining”, verb); see candid.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkændəl/, /ˈkændl̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ændəl

Noun

candle (plural candles)

1. A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.
2. The protruding, removable portion of a filter, particularly a water filter.
3. (obsolete) A unit of luminous intensity, now replaced by the SI unit candela.
4. (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.

Verb

candle (third-person singular simple present candles, present participle candling, simple past and past participle candled)

1. (embryology, transitive) To observe the growth of an embryo inside (an egg), using a bright light source.
2. (pottery) To dry greenware prior to beginning of the firing cycle, setting the kiln at 200° Celsius until all water is removed from the greenware.
3. To check an item (such as an envelope) by holding it between a light source and the eye.

Further reading

• candle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• candle in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• Declan, lanced