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flambeau

[flam-boh]
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noun, plural flam·beaux [flam-bohz] /ˈflæm boʊz/, flam·beaus.
  1. a flaming torch.
  2. a torch for use at night in illuminations, processions, etc.
  3. a large, decorated candlestick.
  4. an ornament having the form of a flaming torch.
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Origin of flambeau

1625–35; < French: torch, derivative of Old French flambe flame
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

torchlampbeaconlanterndipflambeauincendiarylightflashflarebougie

Examples from the Web for flambeaux

Historical Examples

  • As soon as we arrived, Lucien had the satisfaction of trying one of our flambeaux.

    Adventures of a Young Naturalist

    Lucien Biart

  • One of the last tents of the camp shone within as a star with flambeaux.

    Cinq Mars, Complete

    Alfred de Vigny

  • They saw a light: no doubt the flambeaux accompanying the vehicles.

    The Royal Life Guard

    Alexander Dumas (pere)

  • Mark the flambeaux guttering and sputtering into an odorous death.

    The Passionate Elopement

    Compton Mackenzie

  • On the altar, there are angels with flambeaux in their hands, of wooden carving.

British Dictionary definitions for flambeaux

flambeau

noun plural -beaux (-bəʊ, -bəʊz) or -beaus
  1. a burning torch, as used in night processions
  2. a large ornamental candlestick
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Word Origin

C17: from Old French: torch, literally: a little flame, from flambe flame
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 flambeaux

flambeau

n.

also flambeaux, 1630s, from French flambeau, from flambe "flame" (see flamboyant).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper