chandelier

Borrowed from French chandelier, from Latin candelabrum, from candela (“a candle”). Doublet of candelabrum. See also candle.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

chandelier (plural chandeliers)

1. A branched, often ornate, lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling
   • 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House Is Built, Chapter VII, Section vi:

     She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?

2. (auction, often attributive) A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction.

   Synonym: wall

   • 2007, Frank Pope, "Dragon Sea: a true tale of treasure, archeology, and greed off the coast of Vietnam", Harcourt Books, p. 306.

     A mysterious phone bidder was grabbing the pieces that no one else wanted—Mensun suspected this was the auction house "bidding against the chandelier," protecting itself against selling too low.

   • 2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN:

     The bids are usually real but can be fake or ‘chandelier’ bids (non-existing bids taken ‘off the chandelier’) on behalf of the consignor, or bids left with the auctioneer in advance.

3. (obsolete, military) A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences.
   • 1747, James Boswell, The Scots Book, volume 9, page 37:

     Chandelier. A wooden frame, whereon are laid fascines or faggots, to cover the workmen in making approaches.

   • 1994, Todd A. Shallat, Structures in the Stream: Water, Science, and the Rise of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, University of Texas Press, page 32:

     Europeans solved this problem by building a temporary fence with tightly bound sticks ("fascines") stacked into wooden frames ("chandeliers").

4. (surgery) An endoilluminator used in eye surgery.

• “chandelier”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “chandelier”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̃.də.lje/

Inherited from Latin candēlābrum, with a change in suffix. Doublet of candélabre.

chandelier m (plural chandeliers)

1. candlestick
2. chandelier

• chandelle

From chandelle +‎ -ier, or from Medieval Latin candelārius. Compare Catalan candeler, Italian candelaio, Spanish candelero.

chandelier m (plural chandeliers)

1. candlemaker

• “chandelier”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

chandelier m (plural chandelieres)

1. chandelier