flambeau means A burning torch, especially one carried in procession.
flambeau is pronounced /ˈflambəʊ/.
Why “flambeau” is a great word
A handheld ceremonial torch, especially one carried aloft in a procession. Its name descends from French flambeau, from Old French flambe ("flame"), from Latin flamma ("flame, blazing fire"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel- ("to shine, flash, burn"); first attested in English in the 1630s. Unlike a "torch"—a general, often utilitarian light—or a "cresset"—a fixed, stationary beacon—a flambeau is flame made deliberately mobile and magnificent, meant to be seen rather than merely to see. It is the hissing arc of fire borne by a masked reveler, the gilded handle warming the glove of a footman flanking a carriage, and the twin points of light marking a funeral cortege's solemn advance—a moving island of illumination, a fragile, swaying triumph of human presence against the vast, patient dark.
Etymology
Borrowed from French flambeau.
noun
- A burning torch, especially one carried in procession.e.g.“Saint-Antoine has its cannon pointed (full of grapeshot); thrice applies the lit flambeau; which thrice refuses to catch,—the touchholes are so wetted....” — 1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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