rush candle

American  

noun

1. a candle made from a dried, partly peeled rush that has been dipped in grease.

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Etymology

Origin of rush candle

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rush candle

By the light of a rush candle Brother Basil and the Abbot looked at the precious grains of river-washed gold, twinkling like fairy stars.

From Masters of the Guild by L. Lamprey

Light is, or used to be, given by a “lamp,” a kind of Chinese lantern on a lacquer stand, the light being given by a rush candle.

From The Empire of the East by H. B. (Helen Barrett) Montgomery

After a satisfactory answer, the door was slowly and cautiously opened, and the figure of a wrinkled, half-famished, and half-naked beldam appeared, shading a rush candle with one hand.

From Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad with Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected Vol. III (of 3) by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson

The radiance of sunlight might well have been less than the blaze of a rush candle before the staggering brilliancy.

From The Golden Woman A Story of the Montana Hills by Ridgwell Cullum

She lighted a fragment of a rush candle by the flame, and, opening a small box containing medicinal preparations, took therefrom a small vial containing an amber-coloured liquid, and held it to the light.

From Captain Kyd (Vol 1 of 2) or, The Wizard of the Sea by Jonathon Holt Ingraham