Why this word is great
CANDLEFISH — [Noun] An oily, nutrient-rich fish of the northern Pacific, historically dried and burned as a light source by Indigenous peoples. From candle (referring to its use as a light source) + fish. Unlike "eulachon" (a name steeped in regional trade and ceremony) or "smelt" (a generic term for silvery swimmers), "candlefish" speaks to necessity’s ingenuity—a creature transformed by need into fuel. Imagine it: a dried body threaded onto a stick, its oils seeping into flame; the faint fishy tang of light in a longhouse; the slow, greasy burn of survival against the dark. Even the most ordinary life, pressed by circumstance, can become extraordinary.