chandelier
Americannoun
-
chandeliers
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chandelier
1655–65; < French: literally, something that holds candles; see chandler
Explanation
A chandelier is a fancy light fixture that is often ornate and hanging suspended in the middle of a formal space. Walk into a grand ballroom and see a light fixture adorned with sparkling crystals? That's a chandelier. The word chandelier comes from the French candere meaning "be white, glisten." Look up at a chandelier and you'll see it glistening and casting white reflections on the walls. The French origin of the word might call up images of palaces like Versailles in France, where chandeliers hang in nearly every room.
Vocabulary lists containing chandelier
The Ottoman Empire: Furniture Words
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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List 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Four larger cylinders were positioned on a rotating carousel in a configuration resembling four candlesticks on an old-fashioned chandelier.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
When they handed the property over, it boasted emerald green walls, a rattan monkey chandelier, and banana-leaf wallpaper.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
A group of people were gathered around a large dining table beneath a massive chandelier of antler, a tableau that evoked some kind of Viking summit.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Nearby, a handmade chandelier by artist Helen Stickler, decorated with vintage Swarovski crystals and beads, adds to what Weger describes as her “Candyland vibe.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
There was a crystal chandelier in the dining room, and a big stone fireplace in the living room.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Anyone who hasn’t engaged with the field “in the last 50 years” will think “wagon-wheel chandeliers, very heavy furniture; very, very brown, kind of stuck in the 1950s,” says author Chase Reynolds Ewald.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Uniformed doormen greet guests at the entrance, while chandeliers, fireplaces and classic architectural details reinforce the hotel’s historic character.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
However, Lopez’s newly renovated space has a much brighter color palette, with a marble fireplace, pale green walls, gold chandeliers, and painted beams.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
The space, called Fallen Empire, features red mohair booths, built-in Champagne buckets, mirrored walls and chandeliers, sconces and lamps from the Italian glass-blowing island of Murano.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
The more steps he took away from the grand gallery of quartz chandeliers, the dimmer the light became.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
