candle-

The base unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units that is equal to the luminous intensity in a given direction of a source which emits monochromatic radiation of frequency and has a radiant intensity in that direction of watt per unit solid angle; abbreviation cd and also called a candle.

1. A molded piece of wax, tallow, or other fatty substance, usually cylindrical in shape, encasing a wick that is burned to provide light.
2. A unit of luminous intensity, defined as a fraction of the luminous intensity of a group of 45 carbon-filament lamps; used from 1909 to 1948 as the international standard.
3. A unit of luminous intensity, equal to the luminous intensity of a wax candle of standard specifications: used prior to 1909 as the international standard.
4. Etymology: from Ole English candel, early church-word borrowing from Latin candela, "a light, a torch"; from candere, "to shine".

Candles were unknown in ancient Greece (where oil lamps were used), but common from early times among Romans and Etruscans.

1. The light that a burning candle provides.
2. Illumination from a candle or candles.
3. Dusk; twilight; the time to light a candle.

Luminous intensity measured in candelas.

Someone who examines by holding between the eye and a light; especially, to test (eggs) in this way for staleness, blood clots, fertility, and growth.

Illumination or brightness equivalent to one lumen per square foot; replaced in the SI system by the candela; or the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency.