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candling

 [kan-dl]   Origin

can·dle

   [kan-dl] noun, verb, -dled, -dling.
noun
1.
a long, usually slender piece of tallow or wax with an embedded wick that is burned to give light.
2.
something resembling a candle in appearance or use.
3.
Optics.
a.
(formerly) candela.
b.
Also called international candle. 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.
c.
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. Abbreviation: c., c
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verb (used with object)
4.
to examine (eggs) for freshness, fertility, etc., by holding them up to a bright light.
5.
to hold (a bottle of wine) in front of a lighted candle while decanting so as to detect sediment and prevent its being poured off with the wine.

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Candling is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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Idioms
6.
burn the/one's candle at both ends. burn1 (def. 54).
7.
hold a candle to, to compare favorably with (usually used in the negative): She's smart, but she can't hold a candle to her sister.
8.
worth the candle, worth the trouble or effort involved (usually used in the negative): Trying to win them over to your viewpoint is not worth the candle.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English candel < Latin candēla, equivalent to cand(ēre) to shine + -ēla deverbal noun suffix; see candid

Related forms
can·dler, noun
un·can·dled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To candling
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

candle
O.E. candel "lamp, lantern, candle," an early ecclesiastical borrowing from L. candela "a light, torch, candle made of tallow or wax," from candere "to shine," from PIE base *kand- "to glow, to shine, to shoot out light" (cf. Skt. cand- "to give light, shine," candra- "shining, glowing, moon;" Gk. kandaros
EXPAND
"coal;" Welsh cann "white;" M.Ir. condud "fuel"). Candles were unknown in ancient Greece (where oil lamps sufficed), but common from early times among Romans and Etruscans. Candles on birthday cakes seems to have been originally a German custom. To hold a candle to originally meant "to help in a subordinate capacity." To burn the candle at both ends is recorded from 1730.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

candle can·dle (kān'dl)
n.
See candela.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

candling

egg-grading process in which the egg is inspected before a penetrating light in a darkened room for signs of fertility, defects, or freshness. First used to check embryo development in eggs being incubated, candling is used in modern commercial egg production primarily to rate quality

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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