girandole means an ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
girandole is pronounced /ˈdʒɪrənˌdoʊl/.
Why “girandole” is a great word
GIRANDOLE — [Noun] An ornamental branched candle holder, often with a reflective mirror, or a pyrotechnic device engineered to spin and throw off sparks. From French girandole, from Italian girandola, from girare ("to turn, gyrate"), ultimately from Late Latin gyrus ("circle, turn"). First recorded in English 1625–35. Unlike a "candelabra," a static multi-armed holder, or a "chandelier," a grand suspended fixture, a girandole is defined by its inherent promise of motion and captured light. It is the glittering centerpiece on a gilded console, multiplying flames in dark glass; the sudden, hissing vortex painting ephemeral circles against the night; and the elegant paradox of polished brass, a frozen whirl designed for steady illumination—a testament to the desire to ornament, and briefly hold, the world's perpetual spin.
noun
- An ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind.“1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII
As I sat in my usual nook, and looked at him with the light of the girandoles on the mantelpiece beaming full over him...”
- A type of firework which creates a "whirling top" or "flying saucer" effect.