candles

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of candle.

   Rows of candles flickered along the church altar.

   She arranged scented candles around the edge of the bathtub.

   Note

   The plural covers every countable meaning of candle, not only wax lights. The removable candles of a water filter and the pale spring candles on a pine take it too. The old unit of luminous intensity, now replaced by the candela, formed its plural the same way. The spelling is shared with the verb's present form. A determiner such as the, two or some marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of candle.

   The inspector candles each egg against a bright lamp on the line.

   She candles the eggs carefully to spot any blood spots within.

   Note

   Every use of the verb needs an object: an inspector candles eggs, and a clerk candles an envelope by holding it up to a light to see inside. The potter's use is the odd one out. It involves heat, not light: a potter candles greenware by holding the kiln at 200° Celsius until all the water is gone, before the firing proper begins.

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