chandelier

American  

[shan-dl-eer] / ˌʃæn dlˈɪər /

noun

• chandeliers
  plural

1. a decorative, sometimes ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling, usually having branched supports for a number of lights.

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chandelier British  

/ ˌʃændɪˈlɪə /

noun

1. an ornamental hanging light with branches and holders for several candles or bulbs

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chandeliered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chandeliers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chandelier

1655–65; < French: literally, something that holds candles; see chandler

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chandelier chandeliers

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

Scattered across the living room floor, under a sparkling crystal chandelier, were dozens of photos of the same slender man in different settings - sitting at his desk, even playing in the snow.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

All of them looked upward in time to see the crystal chandelier tremble; then, with a creak and an ominous jingling, it began to fall.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Louis Poulsen chandeliers hang from the ceiling, along with several plush, crescent-shaped loveseats, acquired from Benaroya Hall when the concert hall underwent a redesign.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

Beneath the sparkling chandeliers hanging in the stained-glass dome atrium of The Palace Hotel, some investors told the BBC that the comments from Coxon and others could accelerate a government crackdown.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

For the 25th anniversary performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the production team planned to borrow one of the chandeliers that Swarovski had made for the 2004 “Phantom” film.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Under ornate glass chandeliers, he boasted to cameras that his Tokyo-based technology conglomerate would unleash at least $52 billion of investment in French data centers, part of his global AI spending spree.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Everything is lit with glowing chandeliers and copious candles, so that the light is not bright but deep and warm and bubbling.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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