chandelier

English
An elaborate chandelier
Two chandeliers, stacked with fascines. (The image is cut off, there is an unseen third chandelier to the left.)

Etymology

Borrowed from French chandelier, from Latin candelabrum, from candela (“a candle”). Doublet of candelabrum. see candle.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ʃændəˈlɪə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

chandelier (plural chandeliers)

  1. A branched, often ornate, lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling
    • 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House Is Built, Chapter VII, Section vi
      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?
  2. (auction) A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction.
    Synonym: wall
    • 2007, Frank Pope, "Dragon Sea: a true tale of treasure, archeology, and greed off the coast of Vietnam", Harcourt Books, p. 306.
      A mysterious phone bidder was grabbing the pieces that no one else wanted—Mensun suspected this was the auction house "bidding against the chandelier," protecting itself against selling too low.
  3. (obsolete, military) A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences.
    • 1747, James Boswell, The Scots Book, volume 9, p. 37.
      Chandelier. A wooden frame, whereon are laid fascines or faggots, to cover the workmen in making approaches.
    • 1994, Todd A. Shallat, Structures in the Stream: Water, Science, and the Rise of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, University of Texas Press, p. 32.
      Europeans solved this problem by building a temporary fence with tightly bound sticks ("fascines") stacked into wooden frames ("chandeliers").
  4. (surgery) An endoilluminator used in eye surgery.

Translations

Further reading

French

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ʃɑ̃.də.lje/

Etymology 1

From Latin candēlābrum, with a change in suffix. Doublet of candélabre.

Noun

chandelier m (plural chandeliers)

  1. candlestick
  2. chandelier

Etymology 2

chandelle +‎ -ier, or from Medieval Latin candelārius. Compare Catalan candeler, Italian candelaio, Spanish candelero.

Noun

chandelier m (plural chandeliers)

  1. candlemaker

Further reading

Spanish

Noun

chandelier m (plural chandelieres)

  1. chandelier
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