Etymologically
Log in

candelarius

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 07:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

candēlārius (feminine candēlāria, neuter candēlārium); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin candēla (“candle”) + -ārius.[3][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only ancient record is on the marble plan of Rome, which names horrea candēlāria, storehouses for candles;[3][1] Köbler dates the plan to 193–211.[3][1]

Semantic evolution

It reappears in medieval Latin.[4][2] As an adjective it was used of the feast of the Virgin Mary when candles are blessed: an Italian charter of 1190 dates something to around the feast of Saint Mary candēlāria,[2] and Niermeyer and the Hungarian dictionary record the feminine for Candlemas.[4][5]

As a masculine noun it was a candle-maker or chandler, and in monasteries the monk who looked after the candles.[4][2][6] English records from 1270 onwards use it of chandlers: in 1283 London ordered the chandlers in Cheapside to move elsewhere in the city, and a Norwich court record of 1300 deals with an agreement among the chandlers that none would sell a pound of candles for less than another.[6] The neuter candēlārium was a lamp.[4]

Timeline

  • 193–211 AD – The marble plan of Rome names candle storehouses.[3][1]
  • 1190 – An Italian charter names the feast of Saint Mary candēlāria.[2]
  • 1270 – A Leicester record names a chandler.[6]
  • 1283 – The chandlers of Cheapside are ordered to move.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or for candles: horrea candēlāria, candle storehouses.[3][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Maria candēlāria, festum candēlārium: Candlemas, the feast of the Purification.[2][4][5]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A chandler, candle-maker.[4][2][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A monk in charge of the candles.[4][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) candēlārium: a lamp.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  6. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press