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chandelier

 - 4 dictionary results

chan⋅de⋅lier

[shan-dl-eer]
–noun
a decorative, sometimes ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling, usually having branched supports for a number of lights.

Origin:
1655–65; < F: lit., something that holds candles; see chandler


chan⋅de⋅liered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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chan·de·lier   (shān'də-lîr')   
n.  A branched, decorative lighting fixture that holds a number of bulbs or candles and is suspended from a ceiling.

[Middle English chandeler, from Old French chandelier, from Vulgar Latin *candēlārium, alteration of Latin candēlābrum, candelabrum; see candelabrum.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

chandelier 
c.1325, chaundeler, from O.Fr. chandelabre "candlestick," from L. candelabrum, from candela "candle" (see candle). Re-spelled c.1736 in Fr. fashion; during 17c. the Fr. spelling referred to a military device.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

chandelier

a branched candleholder-or, in modern times, electric-light holder-suspended from the ceiling. Hanging candleholders made of wood or iron and simply shaped were used in Anglo-Saxon churches before the Norman Conquest (1066). In the 12th and 13th centuries huge openwork hoops of iron or bronze supported numerous prickets (spikes) for candles.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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