In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
CANDLE
candle, taper, wax light
(noun) stick of wax with a wick in the middle
candle, candela, cd, standard candle
(noun) 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
candle
(verb) examine eggs for freshness by holding them against a light
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
candle (plural candles)
A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.
The protruding, removable portion of a filter, particularly a water filter.
(obsolete) A unit of luminous intensity, now replaced by the SI unit candela.
(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)
(embryology, transitive) To observe the growth of an embryo inside (an egg), using a bright light source.
(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.
To check an item (such as an envelope) by holding it between a light source and the eye.
Anagrams
• Declan, calend, lanced
Source: Wiktionary
Can"dle, n. Etym: [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.]
1. A slender, cylindrical body of tallow, containing a wick composed of loosely twisted linen of cotton threads, and used to furnish light. How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. Shak.
Note: Candles are usually made by repeatedly dipping the wicks in the melted tallow, etc. ("dipped candles"), or by casting or running in a mold.
2. That which gives light; a luminary. By these blessed candles of the night. Shak. Candle nut, the fruit of a euphorbiaceous shrub (Aleurites triloba), a native of some of the Pacific islands; -- socalled because, when dry, it will burn with a bright flame, and is used by the natives as a candle. The oil has many uses.
– Candle power (Photom.), illuminating power, as of a lamp, or gas flame, reckoned in terms of the light of a standard candle. Electric candle, A modification of the electric arc lamp, in which the carbon rods, instead of being placed end to end, are arranged side by side, and at a distance suitable for the formation of the arc at the tip; - - called also, from the name of the inventor, Jablockoff candle.
– Excommunication by inch of candle, a form of excommunication in which the offender is allowed time to repent only while a candle burns.
– Not worth the candle, not worth the cost or trouble.
– Rush candle, a candle made of the pith of certain rushes, peeled except on one side, and dipped in grease.
– Sale by inch of candle, an auction in which persons are allowed to bid only till a small piece of candle burns out.
– Standard candle (Photom.), a special form of candle employed as a standard in photometric measurements; usually, a candle of spermaceti so constructed as to burn at the rate of 120 grains, or 7.8 grams, per hour.
– To curse by bell, book and candle. See under Bell.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
25 December 2024
UNAMBIGUOUS
(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa
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