Chandelier

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃændəˈlɪə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Origin

From French, from Latin candelabrum, from candela ("a candle"); see candle.

Full definition of chandelier

Noun

1. A branched, often ornate, lighting fixture suspended from the ceiling
• 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, , Chapter VII, Section viShe 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) A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction. Also called a 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.
3. (obsolete, military) A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences.
• 1747, James Boswell, The Scots Book, volume 9, p. 37. http://books.google.com/books?id=FVwAAAAAYAAJ&dq=chandelier%20is%20a%20wooden%20frame&pg=PA37#v=onepage&q=chandelier%20is%20a%20wooden%20frame&f=falseChandelier. 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, p. 32.Europeans solved this problem by building a temporary fence with tightly bound sticks ("fascines") stacked into wooden frames ("chandeliers").

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