CANDLES

Noun

candles

plural of candle

Verb

candles

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of candle

Anagrams

• calends, slanced

Source: Wiktionary


CANDLE

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



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Word of the Day

9 May 2025

RIGHT

(noun) anything in accord with principles of justice; “he feels he is in the right”; “the rightfulness of his claim”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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