chandelier
/ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪə(ɹ)/
chandelier means A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling. It carries an Arena rating of 1551, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, chandelier ranks #328 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,563 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,578 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,070 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
chandelier is pronounced /ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪə(ɹ)/.
Why “chandelier” is a great word
A branched, often ornate, light fixture designed for suspension from a ceiling. From the French chandelier, from the Latin candelabrum ("candlestick"), from candela ("candle"). Unlike a "candelabrum" (a standing servant for tapers) or a "pendant" (a solitary, functional drop), a chandelier is a captured constellation, a social nucleus of light. It is the cold, intricate geometry of crystal refracting a hundred points of flame in a still ballroom; the tarnished brass and dust-shrouded glass in a forgotten hallway; the wrought-iron simplicity holding a soft glow over a laden dinner table. It is light given weight and ceremony, performing an illumination always just out of reach.
Etymology
Borrowed from French chandelier, from Latin candelabrum, from candela (“a candle”). Doublet of candelabrum. See also candle.
noun
- A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.e.g.“She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?” — 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, chapter VII, in A House Is Built, section vi:
- A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.; One lit by candles.
- A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction.
- An endoilluminator used in eye surgery.
- A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences.e.g.“Chandelier. A wooden frame, whereon are laid fascines or faggots, to cover the workmen in making approaches.” — [1747, James Boswell, The Scots Book, volume IX, page 37:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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