DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Can·dle n.
 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. (“dipped candles”), 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.
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 E·lec·tric E·lec·tric·al a.
 1. Pertaining to electricity; consisting of, containing, derived from, or produced by, electricity; as, electric power or virtue; an electric jar; electric effects; an electric spark; an electric charge; an electric current; an electrical engineer.
 2. Capable of occasioning the phenomena of electricity; as, an electric or electrical machine or substance; an electric generator.
 3. Electrifying; thrilling; magnetic. “Electric Pindar.”
 Electric atmosphere, or  Electric aura. See under Aura.
 Electrical battery. See Battery.
 Electrical brush. See under Brush.
 Electric cable. See Telegraph cable, under Telegraph.
 Electric candle. See under Candle.
 Electric cat Zoöl., one of three or more large species of African catfish of the genus Malapterurus (esp. M. electricus of the Nile). They have a large electrical organ and are able to give powerful shocks; -- called also sheathfish.
 Electric clock. See under Clock, and see Electro-chronograph.
 Electric current, a current or stream of electricity traversing a closed circuit formed of conducting substances, or passing by means of conductors from one body to another which is in a different electrical state.
 Electric eel, or  Electrical eel Zoöl., a South American eel-like fresh-water fish of the genus Gymnotus (G. electricus), from two to five feet in length, capable of giving a violent electric shock. See Gymnotus.
 Electrical fish Zoöl., any fish which has an electrical organ by means of which it can give an electrical shock. The best known kinds are the torpedo, the gymnotus, or electrical eel, and the electric cat. See Torpedo, and Gymnotus.
 Electric fluid, the supposed matter of electricity; lightning. [archaic]
 Electrical image Elec., a collection of electrical points regarded as forming, by an analogy with optical phenomena, an image of certain other electrical points, and used in the solution of electrical problems. --Sir W. Thomson.
 Electric machine, or   Electrical machine, an apparatus for generating, collecting, or exciting, electricity, as by friction.
 Electric motor. See Electro-motor, 2.
 Electric osmose. Physics See under Osmose.
 Electric pen, a hand pen for making perforated stencils for multiplying writings. It has a puncturing needle driven at great speed by a very small magneto-electric engine on the penhandle.
 Electric railway, a railway in which the machinery for moving the cars is driven by an electric current.
 Electric ray Zoöl., the torpedo.
 Electric telegraph. See Telegraph.
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