incandescent

English

WOTD – 24 February 2010

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.kænˈdɛs.ənt/, /ˌɪŋ.kænˈdɛs.ənt/, /ˌɪn.kənˈdɛs.ənt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.kænˈdɛs.ənt/, /ˌɪn.kənˈdɛs.ənt/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsənt

Adjective

incandescent (comparative more incandescent, superlative most incandescent)

1. Emitting light as a result of being heated.
   • 1959, Tom Lehrer (lyrics and music), “We Will All Go Together When We Go”:

     We will all go together when we go / All suffused with an incandescent glow

2. Shining very brightly.
   • 2013 November 27, John Grotzinger, “The world of Mars [print version: International Herald Tribune Magazine, 2013, p. 36]”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Those multitoned buttes and mesas [of the Grand Canyon], and that incandescent sequence of colorful bands that make one of the natural wonders of the world so grand, can also be found over 100 million miles away [on Mars].

3. (figurative) Showing intense emotion, as of a performance, etc.

Derived terms

• incandescent lamp

Related terms

• incandescence
• incandescently

Translations

emitting light as result of heating

• Catalan: incandescent (ca)
• Czech: žhnoucí, žhavící
• Dutch: lichtgevend (nl)
• Finnish: hehku- (fi), hehkuva (fi)
• French: incandescent (fr) m
• German: Glüh-, glühend (de)
• Greek: πυρακτωμένος (el) (pyraktoménos)
• Italian: incandescente (it)
• Japanese: 白熱 (ja)
• Occitan: incandescent (oc)
• Portuguese: incandescente (pt)
• Russian: накалённый добела (nakaljónnyj dobela)
• Slovak: žiarivá f, žiarivý m, žiarivé n
• Spanish: incandescente (es), candente (es)
• Tagalog: nagbabaga
• Turkish: akkor (tr)

shining brightly

• Czech: zářivý (cs)
• Dutch: witgloeiend (nl)
• Finnish: loistava (fi), hehkuva (fi)
• French: éblouissant (fr), irradiant (fr)
• German: weißglühend (de)
• Italian: abbagliante (it)
• Korean: 눈부시게 밝은 (nunbusige balgeun)
• Russian: светя́щийся (ru) (svetjáščijsja), сия́ющий (ru) (sijájuščij)
• Spanish: reluciente (es), irradiante, deslumbrante (es)
• Swedish: bländande (sv)

showing intense emotion

• Dutch: stralend (nl),eclatant (nl)
• Finnish: hehkuva (fi)
• French: resplendissant (fr), éclatant (fr), rayonnant (fr), irradiant (fr)
• Italian: risplendente (it)
• Portuguese: incandescente (pt)
• Russian: пы́лкий (ru) (pýlkij), горя́чий (ru) (gorjáčij)
• Spanish: resplandesciente, rebosante (es)

Noun

incandescent (plural incandescents)

1. An incandescent lamp or bulb
   • 2007 March 1, Matthew L. Wald, “Room to Improve”, in New York Times‎^[2]:

     Compact fluorescents are typically rated at 7,500 to 10,000 hours, and incandescents at about 1,500 hours.

Translations

incandescent lamp — see light bulb

See also

• fluorescent

French

Etymology

From Latin incandescentem, from incandesco (“be heated, glow”), from in- (“intensifying prefix”) + candesco (“become white”), from candidus (“white”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.kɑ̃.dɛ.sɑ̃/, /ɛ̃.kɑ̃.de.sɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophone: incandescents
• Hyphenation: in‧can‧de‧scent

Adjective

incandescent (feminine incandescente, masculine plural incandescents, feminine plural incandescentes)

1. incandescent

   Lorsque cette masse incandescente sortit des entrailles de la terre, elle se trouva entourée d'eau et se refroidit rapidement. (Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau, L'Archipel de Chausey, souvenirs d'un Naturaliste, Revue des Deux Mondes, tome 30, 1842)

Related terms

• incandescence

References

• “incandescent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Further reading

• “incandescent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Verb

incandēscent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of incandēscō

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French incandescent.

Adjective

incandescent m or n (feminine singular incandescentă, masculine plural incandescenți, feminine and neuter plural incandescente)

1. incandescent

Declension

Declension of incandescent

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	incandescent		incandescentă	incandescenți	incandescente
	definite	incandescentul		incandescenta	incandescenții	incandescentele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	incandescent		incandescente	incandescenți	incandescente
	definite	incandescentului		incandescentei	incandescenților	incandescentelor