cierge

/sɪə̯dʒ/

Etymology

From earlier cerge, from Middle English serge, cerge, from Old French cierge, cerge from Latin cereus (“waxy”), from cera (“wax”). The current pronunciation is learnedly taken from modern French cierge (with varying degrees of nativisation).

Why this word is great

CIERGE — [Noun] A wax candle used in religious rites. From Middle English serge, cerge, from Old French cierge, cerge, from Latin cereus ("waxy"), from cera ("wax"). Unlike a "taper" (which flickers at dinner tables) or a "lamp" (which hums with electric indifference), the cierge is solemn, sacramental—a vessel of votive light. It is the slow drip of beeswax down a cathedral pillar, the trembling glow illuminating a pilgrim’s face at vespers, the silent witness to whispered prayers in the dead of night. A thing so simple, so transient, yet charged with the weight of centuries.

noun

A wax candle used in religious rites.“The fire was lighted in the drawing-room, and in the soft obscurity Toppie with her high golden head looked like a tall white lighted cierge; a Christmas cierge in a votive chapel of a great cathedral; for though so sweet, so almost gay, the background to Toppie's gaiety was something dedicated and remote.”