English Dictionary: standard candle | by the DICT Development Group |
3 results for standard candle | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Standard \Stand"ard\, a. 1. Being, affording, or according with, a standard for comparison and judgment; as, standard time; standard weights and measures; a standard authority as to nautical terms; standard gold or silver. 2. Hence: Having a recognized and permanent value; as, standard works in history; standard authors. 3. (Hort.) (a) Not supported by, or fastened to, a wall; as, standard fruit trees. (b) Not of the dwarf kind; as, a standard pear tree. {Standard candle}, {Standard gauge}. See under {Candle}, and {Gauge}. {Standard solution}. (Chem.) See {Standardized solution}, under {Solution}. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Candle \Can"dle\, n. [OE. candel, candel, AS, candel, fr. L. candela a (white) light made of wax or tallow, fr. cand[89]re to be white. See {Candid}, and cf. {Chandler}, {Cannel}, {Kindle}.] 1. A slender, cylindrical body of tallow, containing a wick composed of loosely twisted linen of cotton threads, and used to furnish light. How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. --Shak. Note: Candles are usually made by repeatedly dipping the wicks in the melted tallow, etc. ([bd]dipped candles[b8]), or by casting or running in a mold. 2. That which gives light; a luminary. By these blessed candles of the night. --Shak. {Candle nut}, the fruit of a euphorbiaceous shrub ({Aleurites triloba}), a native of some of the Pacific islands; -- socalled because, when dry, it will burn with a bright flame, and is used by the natives as a candle. The oil has many uses. {Candle power} (Photom.), illuminating power, as of a lamp, or gas flame, reckoned in terms of the light of a standard candle. {Electric candle}, A modification of the electric arc lamp, in which the carbon rods, instead of being placed end to end, are arranged side by side, and at a distance suitable for the formation of the arc at the tip; -- called also, from the name of the inventor, {Jablockoff candle}. {Excommunication by inch of candle}, a form of excommunication in which the offender is allowed time to repent only while a candle burns. {Not worth the candle}, not worth the cost or trouble. {Rush candle}, a candle made of the pith of certain rushes, peeled except on one side, and dipped in grease. {Sale by inch of candle}, an auction in which persons are allowed to bid only till a small piece of candle burns out. {Standard candle} (Photom.), a special form of candle employed as a standard in photometric measurements; usually, a candle of spermaceti so constructed as to burn at the rate of 120 grains, or 7.8 grams, per hour. {To curse by bell, book and candle}. See under {Bell}. |