candle English · revision 15214

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 700|origins=ine-pro *kand-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkænd(ə)l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|candel]], [[inh|ang|candel|t=lamp, lantern, candle]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) an early church borrowing from [[la|candēla|t=a light, torch, candle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|candeō|t=to shine, glow, be white]] (see [[candid]]),^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[ine-pro|*kand-|t=to shine]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The Latin word was reinforced in Middle English by Old French [[m|fro|candeile]] and [[m|fro|candelle]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A cylinder of wax or tallow around a wick, burned for light: before 700 in the OED;^(OED 1989) Barnhart has the compound candeltwist, a candle-snuffer, about 700, and candel about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988) According to the OED it came into English with Christianity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Candles were unknown in ancient Greece, where oil lamps sufficed, but common early among the Romans and Etruscans.^(Etymonline) The word was used poetically of the sun, moon and stars from 937.^(OED 1989) ''Not worth the candle'' (late 17th century) translates [[fr|le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle]], a card game not worth the cost of the candles to play it by.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Cannot hold a candle to'' (mid-16th century) comes from an assistant holding a candle for a master at work, or perhaps from candles carried in church ceremonies;^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) ''to burn the candle at both ends'' is recorded from 1730.^(Etymonline) The verb, to test an egg by holding it against a light, is in modern dictionaries.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 700 – candel.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 725 – candel in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 937 – the sun as a candle (poetic).^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 970 – candlestick.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1730 – burn the candle at both ends.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A cylinder of [[wax]], [[tallow]] or the like around a [[wick]], burned to give light.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(physics)'' A former unit of [[luminous intensity]]; the [[candela]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To examine an egg by holding it in front of a bright light.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[candler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[candelabrum]]

+ * [[candela]]

+ * [[candid]]

+ * [[candidate]]

+ * [[chandelier]]

+ * [[chandler]]

+ * [[chandlery]]

+ * [[incandescent]]

+ * [[Candlemas]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Latin word is also the source of [[fr|chandelle]], [[es|candela]], [[ga|coinneal]] and [[cy|canwyll]],^(Etymonline) and through French of [[chandelier]] and [[chandler]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}