candle
/ˈkand(ə)l
/- Light candles and burn oils to create a restful and tranquil environment.
- She produces a lighter and the single candle on the table flickers into life alongside the vase of white flowers
- Winstanley climbed up to the lantern and lit a dozen tallow candles.
Synonyms
- The unit of light intensity in the USA, England and France is the international candle.
- The abscissae give the brilliance measured in international candles per square millimetre.
- He candled the eggs - checking them against a flame for defects - and took deliveries, but left grammar school with no wish to join the business.
- We found nests during incubation, and estimated the hatching date by candling eggs.
- Eggs were candled to determine incubation stage, and laying dates were calculated by backdating.
Phrases
be able to hold a candle to
the game's not worth the candle
Derivatives
candler
- Eggs to be examined for hatching success were candled by using a portable candler at both the mid-stage and late-stage of parental incubation to determine embryo developmental stage and viability.
- An egg candler can be purchased, or a flashlight can be used.
- In previous studies of waterfowl, we used field candlers to age embryos in eggs because candlers are a rapid, simple, and accurate method.
Origin
Old English candel, from Latin candela, from candere 'be white or glisten'.
Old English candel came from Latin candela, from candere ‘to be white, shine, glisten’ (compare candid). From the same source comes chandelier (mid 18th century) from Old French chandelier which also gave Middle English chandler, originally a candle maker or seller. A person who cannot hold a candle to someone else is nowhere near as good as them. In the past an assistant might stand next to his superior with a candle to provide light to work by, and so the idea of holding a candle to someone became synonymous with helping them as a subordinate or in a menial way. Not worth the candle originated as a translation of the French phrase le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, ‘the game is not worth the candle’. The ‘game’ was a game of cards involving betting, and would not be worth playing if the expense of candles to provide light was more than the expected winnings.