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torchless

 - 3 dictionary results

torch

1  [tawrch] ,
Use torchless in a Sentence
–noun
1. a light to be carried in the hand, consisting of some combustible substance, as resinous wood, or of twisted flax or the like soaked with tallow or other flammable substance, ignited at the upper end.
2. something considered as a source of illumination, enlightenment, guidance, etc.: the torch of learning.
3. any of various lamplike devices that produce a hot flame and are used for soldering, burning off paint, etc.
4. Slang. an arsonist.
5. Chiefly British. flashlight (def. 1).
–verb (used without object)
6. to burn or flare up like a torch.
–verb (used with object)
7. to subject to the flame or light of a torch, as in order to burn, sear, solder, or illuminate.
8. Slang. to set fire to maliciously, esp. in order to collect insurance.
—Idiom
9. carry the or a torch for, Slang. to be in love with, esp. to suffer from unrequited love for: He still carries a torch for his ex-wife.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME torche (n.) < OF < VL *torca something twisted. See torque

Related forms:
torch⋅a⋅ble, adjective
torchless, adjective
torchlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

torch 
c.1290, from O.Fr. torche, originally "twisted thing," hence "torch formed of twisted tow dipped in wax," probably from V.L. *torca, alteration of L.L. torqua, variant of classical L. torques "collar of twisted metal," from torquere "to twist" (see thwart). In Britain, also applied to the battery-driven version (in U.S., flashlight). Verb meaning "set fire to" is first attested 1931. Torch song is 1927 ("My Melancholy Baby," performed by Tommy Lyman, is said to have been the first so-called), from carry a torch "suffer an unrequited love" (also 1927), an obscure notion from Broadway slang.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: TORCH
Pronunciation: 'torch
Function: noun
Etymology: toxoplasma, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus
: a group of pathological agents that cause similar symptoms in newborns and that include especially a toxoplasma (Toxoplasma gonii), cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, and thetogavirus causing German measles
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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