torch

[tawrch]

noun

a light to be carried in the hand, consisting of some combustible substance, as resinous wood, or of twisted flax or the like soaked with tallow or other flammable substance, ignited at the upper end.

something considered as a source of illumination, enlightenment, guidance, etc.: the torch of learning.

any of various lamplike devices that produce a hot flame and are used for soldering, burning off paint, etc.

Slang. an arsonist.

Chiefly British. flashlight(def 1).

verb (used without object)

to burn or flare up like a torch.

verb (used with object)

to subject to the flame or light of a torch, as in order to burn, sear, solder, or illuminate.

Slang. to set fire to maliciously, especially in order to collect insurance.

Idioms

carry the/a torch for, Slang. to be in love with, especially to suffer from unrequited love for: He still carries a torch for his ex-wife.

Origin of torch

1250–1300; Middle English torche (noun) < Old French < Vulgar Latin *torca something twisted. See torque

Related formstorch·a·ble, adjectivetorch·less, adjectivetorch·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for carry a torch for

torch

noun

a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteriesUS and Canadian word: flashlight

a wooden or tow shaft dipped in wax or tallow and set alight

anything regarded as a source of enlightenment, guidance, etcthe torch of evangelism

any apparatus that burns with a hot flame for welding, brazing, or soldering

carry a torch for to be in love with, esp unrequitedly

put to the torch to set fire to; burn downthe looted monastery was put to the torch

verb

(tr) slang to set fire to, esp deliberately as an act of arson

Derived Formstorchlike, adjective

Word Origin for torch

C13: from Old French torche handful of twisted straw, from Vulgar Latin torca (unattested), from Latin torquēre to twist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for carry a torch for

torch

late 13c., from Old French torche, originally "twisted thing," hence "torch formed of twisted tow dipped in wax," probably from Vulgar Latin *torca, alteration of Late Latin torqua, variant of classical Latin torques "collar of twisted metal," from torquere "to twist" (see thwart). In Britain, also applied to the battery-driven version (in U.S., flashlight). Torch song is 1927 ("My Melancholy Baby," performed by Tommy Lyman, is said to have been the first so called), from carry a torch "suffer an unrequited love" (also 1927), an obscure notion from Broadway slang.

torch

"set fire to," 1931, from torch (n.). Related: Torched; torching.

carry a torch for in Culture

carry a torch for

To be infatuated with: “Frank may be engaged to Helen, but I think he still carries a torch for Laura.”

Idioms and Phrases with carry a torch for

carry a torch for

Also, carry the torch for. Continue to feel the pain of unreciprocated love for, as in Jane has been carrying the torch for Bill for at least a year. The torch in this term alludes to the heat of love or passion. [1920s]

torch

see carry a torch; pass the torch.