Candelabra

Candle holder with multiple arms

This article is about the candle holder. For the hydroid genus Candelabrum, see Candelabridae.

A pair of candelabras with three branches, empty of candles.

A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms.[1][2][3]

In Judaism and in the Philippine religion Iglesia ni Cristo, the menorah is a special kind of candelabrum. The Candelabra is also used in certain Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox church architecture and liturgy by bishops as the Trikiridikiri.

Although electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers continue to model light fixtures and lighting accessories after candelabra and candlesticks. Accordingly, the term candelabra is commonly used to describe small light bulbs used in chandeliers and other lighting fixtures made for decoration as well as lighting.

## Etymology[edit]

Candelabra used for state occasions at the Belgian court (1960)

The first known use of candelabra in English was in 1776,[4] and candelabrum in 1811.[5] Both came from Latin, in which candēlābrum, meaning a "candlestick”, is the singular form and candēlābra is the plural. ultimately deriving from candēla, meaning "candle".[4]

While candelabra is originally the plural form of candelabrum, due to changes in English usage over time, candelabra is now popularly used as the singular form, with candelabras more frequently the plural form.[6]

## History[edit]

Menorah depicted in the Arch of Titus in Rome

Candelabra was used widely in the ancient world. A notable example is the seven-armed candelabra or menorah, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible with instruction on its creation from Moses.[7] A bronze candelabrum was made by Callimachus for the Erechtheion in Athens, to carry the lamp sacred to Athena. In this case it is possible the lamp was suspended.[8]

While candelabra or candelabrum is now often used to mean a branched candle holder, the term has been used to describe a variety of lighting devices. It may describe a tall stand that supports a lamp.[9][10] The Roman candelabra may consist of a stalk or reed, the upper part moulded with projecting feature of the lamps. base resting on three lions' or griffins' feet; sometimes there was a disk at the top to carry a lamp, and sometimes there was a hollow cup, in which resinous woods were burnt. The origin of the term, which means a candlestick, suggests that on the top of the disk was a spike to carry a wax or tallow candle (candela or funalia).[8]

Ancient candelabra

Barberini candelabrum in the Vatican Museums

Etruscan candelabrum c. 550 B.C

These can be very large, and the Romans used bulky supports in stone or marble, of which many examples were found in the Thermae. These consisted of a base, often triangular, and of similar design to the small sacrificial altars, and a shaft either richly moulded or carved with the acanthus plant and crowned with a large cup or basin. Example of these, believed to come from Hadrian's Villa, are found in the Vatican Museums.[8] Simple tall slender candelabras with three feet were commonly used in Roman times. These may be made of wood, but many made of bronze were excavated in Herculaneum and Pompeii.[11] Other types of candelabras also existed in Roman times; these may consist of a figure supporting one or two supports for lamps, or a type that may be placed on a table, with a pillar that has branches from which lights are suspended.[11]

A five-light candelabrum

The Roman examples seem to have served as models for many of the candelabra in the churches in Italy.[8] These may have a pricket for holding a candle. Branched candlesticks became popularly used in homes. In the 18th century, a number of terms, such as branches, candelabras, chandeliers, lustres, girandoles and wall-lights may be used interchangeably, which can caused confusion.[12]

## Candelabra antennas[edit]

Sutro Tower from Grandview

In the United States and Canada,[citation needed] the word candelabra is used to refer to radio masts and towers with multiple transmission antennas. Sutro Tower in San Francisco and John Hancock Center in Chicago are examples of such structures.[13] Baltimore's TV stations, WMAR-TV, WBAL-TV, and WJZ-TV in 1959 built the world’s first three-antenna candelabra tower, 730 feet tall. Other examples include the Mount Royal Candelabra in Montreal, the KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower, KSMO Candelabra Tower, KMBC/KCWE Candelabra Tower, the Madison Community Candelabra Tower in Madison.

## Gallery[edit]

* Crystal candelabrum from Portieux

* A modern candelabra used decoratively at a wedding in the Casa Pueblo historic building in Uruguay

* A candelabrum with three branches

* Porcelain candelabras

## See also[edit]

* Candlestick
* Chandelier
* Girandole
* Julleuchter
* Ljuskrona
* Menorah
* Torchère
* Charlottenburg Candelabra a pair of ornamental colonnades in west Berlin with a passing resemblance to candelabra

## References[edit]

1. ^ Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804\. ISBN 978-0199206872.
2. ^ "candelabra". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
3. ^ "Candelabra - Define Candelabra at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
4. ^ a b "Candelabra". Merriam-Webster.
5. ^ "candelabrum". Merriam-Webster.
6. ^ "Word of the Day: candelabra". Macmillan Dictionary. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
7. ^ Ḥa̱chlili, Racḥel (2001). The Menorah, the Ancient Seven-armed Candelabrum: Origin, Form, and Significance. Brill. pp. 7–9.
8. ^ a b c d One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Candelabrum". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 177.
9. ^ Haines, T. L.; Yaggy, L. W. (2023). The Life in Ancient Times: Discoveries of Pompeii, Ancient Greece, Babylon & Assyria. Good Press.
10. ^ Haines, T. L.; Yaggy, L. W. (2023). The Life in Ancient Times: Discoveries of Pompeii, Ancient Greece, Babylon & Assyria. Good Press.
11. ^ a b A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities: Volume 1. Taylor and Walton. 1842. pp. 191–192.
12. ^ Davison, Sandra; Newton, R.G. (2008). Conservation and Restoration of Glass. Taylor & Francis. p. 69\. ISBN 9781136415517.
13. ^ Benson, K. Blair (1986). "8.1.6. Candelabras". Television engineering handbook. McGraw-Hill. p. 8.11. ISBN 0070047790.

## External links[edit]

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*[c.]: circa