See Also: Candle(medicine)
candle-lit(dictionary)
candle(2)(dictionary)
candle(1)(dictionary)
candle(dictionary)
meter-candle(medicine)
candle-power(medicine)
Candle in the Wind(dictionary)
candle-meter(medicine)
CandLE Australia Limited(finance)

candle(1) (iou)



candle noun. OE.
[Latin candella, earlier candela, from candere be white, glisten. In Middle English from Anglo-Norman & Old French, also from Latin.]
A (usu. cylindrical) body of wax, tallow, etc., enclosing a wick, for giving light by burning. OE.
bell, book, and candle: see BELL noun1. burn the candle at both ends exhaust one's strength or resources through undertaking too much. hold a candle to the Devil: see HOLD verb. mould-candle: see MOULD noun3 14. mutton candle: see MUTTON 4. not able to hold a candle to, not fit to hold a candle to not to be compared with, inferior to. not worth the candle not worth the cost or effort (esp. in the game is not worth the candle). paschal candle: see PASCHAL adjective. Roman candle: see ROMAN adjective. sell by the candle, sell by inch of candle arch.: by auction at which the time allowed for bids is set by the burning of a candle, the last bid received during this time securing the article. smell of the candle: see SMELL verb 8a. tallow candle: see TALLOW noun 3.
b. fig. A source of light, or of mental or spiritual illumination; the 'light' of life. Now rare or obsolete. OE.
A preparation containing aromatic etc. substances for diffusion during burning; a pastille. obsolete exc. Hist. LME.
Physics. A unit of luminous intensity, superseded by the candela. Also international candle. Cf. candlepower below. L19.
standard candle: see STANDARD adjective.
The flower of a horse chestnut tree. E20.
in candle (of a horse-chestnut tree) in flower.
Comb.: candle-beam a rood-beam; candleberry (the fruit of) any of various trees or shrubs whose fruit yields a wax or oil used for candles; esp. (a) (also candleberry myrtle) a bayberry or related shrub; (b) (also candleberry tree) the kukui tree; candle-end the burnt-down end of a candle; fig. (arch.) a trifle, a scrap; candle-fish N. Amer. = EULACHON; candlelight (a) the light given by a candle or candles; (b) dusk, twilight; candlelit adjective lit by a candle or candles; candle-nut = KUKUI; also, its fruit; candlepower illuminating power expressed in candles (sense 3); candle-snuffer: see SNUFFER noun1; candlestick a holder for a candle or (less commonly) candles (the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker: see BUTCHER noun); candle-tree (a) = candleberry (a) above; (b) the Central American tree Parmentiera cerifera, with very long cylindrical fruit; candle-waster arch. a person who studies or revels late into the night; candlewick (a) the wick of a candle; (b) (material with a raised usu. tufted pattern in) a thick soft cotton yarn; candle-wood resinous wood burning with a bright flame; a tree yielding this, esp. (N. Amer.) of the genus Fouquieria.