# candle

Pronunciation: say "KAN-dl" /ˈkændl̩/

## Noun

1. A light made from a wick set in wax, tallow, paraffin, or another flammable solid.
   - Simple: A stick of wax with a string inside that burns to give light.
   - _A single candle flickered on the windowsill all evening._
   - _The monks made candles from beeswax collected on the abbey grounds._
4. In a filter, especially a water filter, the part that projects outward and can be taken out.
   - Simple: The long part of a water filter that sticks out and can be taken out and replaced.
   - _Rinse the ceramic candle under running water before fitting it back into the filter housing._
   - _The purifier's candles should be replaced every six months._
5. A fast-growing, pale, upward-pointing shoot that appears on a pine tree in spring, darkening and becoming inconspicuous as growth slows in summer.
   - Simple: The light-colored new growth that points straight up on a pine tree in spring.
   - _Gardeners pinch back each candle in late spring to keep the pine compact._
   - _By July the candles had darkened and blended into the surrounding foliage._
7. A notional scale of Anglican ritual practice; position on the candle indicates how high church or low church a parish or service is.
   - Simple: An imaginary scale that shows how much ceremony an Anglican church uses in its worship.
   - _St. Mark's sits fairly high up the candle, complete with incense, chasubles, and sung Mass._
   - _The new vicar nudged the parish a little further up the candle each year._

## Verb

2. To observe the growth of an embryo inside an egg by holding the egg before a bright light source.
   - Simple: To hold an egg in front of a bright light to see if a chick is growing inside.
   - _Hatchery workers candle every egg around day seven of incubation._
   - _After candling the batch, she set aside the infertile eggs._
3. To inspect something, such as an envelope, by holding it up to a light and looking through it.
   - Simple: To hold something, like an envelope, up to a light to see what is inside it.
   - _Mailroom clerks candle suspicious envelopes before opening them._
   - _She candled the old letter, hoping to make out the writing folded inside._
6. To dry greenware before the firing cycle by holding the kiln at a low temperature, around 200 degrees Celsius, until all water has been driven from the clay.
   - Simple: To dry clay pieces slowly at low heat so all the water leaves before the pottery oven gets really hot.
   - _We candle large sculptural pieces overnight before raising the kiln to firing temperature._
   - _She candled the mugs for several hours because the clay still felt damp._

## Noun

8. A former unit used to measure luminous intensity, now superseded by the candela, the SI unit. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old unit for measuring how bright a light is, replaced today by the candela.

## Origin

From Middle English candel, from Old English candel, borrowed from Latin candēla ("candle"), which comes from the Latin verb candeō ("be white, bright, shining"). It is a doublet of candela and chandelle.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/candle (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).