Etymograph

English

candela

Candela comes from Latin candēla ‘candle’, from candeō ‘shine, glitter’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kend-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kend-1‘to shine, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kandēō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcandeō1‘shine, glitter’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcandēla2‘candle’
  5. Englishtodaycandela2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin candela
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English candela

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kend-Wiktionary, Latin candela‘to shine, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kandēōWiktionary, Latin candelareconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcandeōWiktionary, Latin candela‘shine, glitter’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcandēlaWiktionary, English candela‘candle’
  5. EnglishtodaycandelaWiktionary, English candela

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kend- ‘to shine, appear’

candidature, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *kandēō

candida, 8 more

through Latin candeō ‘shine, glitter’

candidate, incendiary, candid, incandescent, candor, 9 more

through Latin candēla ‘candle’

chandler, candle, chandelier, 2 more

Today it means

noun In the International System of Units, the base unit of luminous intensity; the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 10¹² hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian. Symbol: cd

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “candela”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin candela. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kend- / candela

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