rushlight

C2 Topic:House & Home
US /ˈrʌʃˌlaɪt/ UK /ˈrʌʃlaɪt/
noun Freq #264607

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    an inexpensive candle made by dipping the dried pith of a rush in melted fat or grease

    The weak rushlight burned for only a short time beside the bed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · an inexpensive candle made... rush candle
Word family
Forms rushlights
Related forms rushwicktallowcandle

Etymology

A compound of rush + light, recorded from the seventeenth century. The name refers to both the rush pith used as a wick and the small light it produced.

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