'Rush candle' definitions:

Definition of 'rush candle'

From: WordNet
noun
A tallow candle with a rush stem as the wick [syn: rushlight, rush candle]

Definition of 'Rush candle'

From: GCIDE
  • Rush \Rush\, n. [OE. rusche, rische, resche, AS. risce, akin to LG. rusk, risch, D. & G. rusch; all probably fr. L. ruscum butcher's broom; akin to Goth. raus reed, G. rohr.]
  • 1. (Bot.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species of Juncus and Scirpus. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Some species are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting mats, and the pith is used in some places for wicks to lamps and rushlights. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The merest trifle; a straw. [1913 Webster]
  • John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush. --Arbuthnot. [1913 Webster]
  • Bog rush. See under Bog.
  • Club rush, any rush of the genus Scirpus.
  • Flowering rush. See under Flowering.
  • Nut rush (a) Any plant of the genus Scleria, rushlike plants with hard nutlike fruits. (b) A name for several species of Cyperus having tuberous roots.
  • Rush broom, an Australian leguminous plant ({Viminaria denudata}), having long, slender branches. Also, the Spanish broom. See under Spanish.
  • Rush candle, See under Candle.
  • Rush grass, any grass of the genus Vilfa, grasses with wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets.
  • Rush toad (Zool.), the natterjack.
  • Scouring rush. (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch.
  • Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the genus Eleocharis, in which the flowers grow in dense spikes.
  • Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass of Arabia, etc. (Andropogon schoenanthus), used in Oriental medical practice.
  • Wood rush, any plant of the genus Luzula, which differs in some technical characters from Juncus. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Rush candle'

From: GCIDE
  • Candle \Can"dle\, n. [OE. candel, candel, AS, candel, fr. L. candela a (white) light made of wax or tallow, fr. cand["e]re to be white. See Candid, and cf. Chandler, Cannel, Kindle.]
  • 1. A slender, cylindrical body of tallow, containing a wick composed of loosely twisted linen of cotton threads, and used to furnish light. [1913 Webster]
  • How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Candles are usually made by repeatedly dipping the wicks in the melted tallow, etc. ("dipped candles"), or by casting or running in a mold. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. That which gives light; a luminary. [1913 Webster]
  • By these blessed candles of the night. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Candle nut, the fruit of a euphorbiaceous shrub ({Aleurites triloba}), a native of some of the Pacific islands; -- socalled because, when dry, it will burn with a bright flame, and is used by the natives as a candle. The oil has many uses.
  • Candle power (Photom.), illuminating power, as of a lamp, or gas flame, reckoned in terms of the light of a standard candle.
  • Electric candle, A modification of the electric arc lamp, in which the carbon rods, instead of being placed end to end, are arranged side by side, and at a distance suitable for the formation of the arc at the tip; -- called also, from the name of the inventor, Jablockoff candle.
  • Excommunication by inch of candle, a form of excommunication in which the offender is allowed time to repent only while a candle burns.
  • Not worth the candle, not worth the cost or trouble.
  • Rush candle, a candle made of the pith of certain rushes, peeled except on one side, and dipped in grease.
  • Sale by inch of candle, an auction in which persons are allowed to bid only till a small piece of candle burns out.
  • Standard candle (Photom.), a special form of candle employed as a standard in photometric measurements; usually, a candle of spermaceti so constructed as to burn at the rate of 120 grains, or 7.8 grams, per hour.
  • To curse by bell, book and candle. See under Bell. [1913 Webster]