incandescent

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   emitting light as a result of being heated

   An incandescent bulb.

2. 2
   adj

   characterized by ardent emotion or intensity or brilliance

   An incandescent performance.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Incandescent entered English through French from Latin incandescere, “to glow,” based on candidus, “white.” Its prefix in- has an intensifying force here.

Borrowed from French incandescent, from Latin incandescens, from incandesco (“be heated, glow”), from in- (intensifying prefix) + candesco (“become white”), from candidus (“white”).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary