Etymograph

English

candelabrum

Candelabrum comes from Latin candēlābrum ‘candlestick’, from candēla ‘a light made of wax or tallow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kend- ‘to shine, appear’.

  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‘a light made of wax or tallow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcandēlābrum2‘candlestick’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1922candelabrum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin candela
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English candelabrum
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1922, Thomas Stearns Eliot, Part II. A Game of Chess.: “The chair she sat in, like a burnished throne,…”.

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 candelabrum‘a light made of wax or tallow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcandēlābrumWiktionary, English candelabrum‘candlestick’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1922candelabrumWiktionary, English candelabrum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1922, Thomas Stearns Eliot, Part II. A Game of Chess.: “The chair she sat in, like a burnished throne,…”

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, candid, incendiary, incandescent, candor, 9 more

through Latin candēla ‘a light made of wax or tallow’

chandler, candle, 2 more

through Latin candēlābrum ‘candlestick’

chandelier

Today it means

noun A candle holder with branches to hold more than one candle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “candelabrum”; 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- / candelabrum

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