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 (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsənt

Adjective

incandescent (comparative more incandescent, superlative most incandescent)

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

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

   • 2007 March 1, Matthew L. Wald, “Room to Improve”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 June 2017:

     Rather than burning out as incandescent bulbs do, L.E.D.’s light output dims over tens of thousands of hours. L.E.D.’s are also more resistant to vibration than incandescents or screw-in fluorescent bulbs, and do not flicker or hum.

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^[2], archived from the original on 2 November 2017:

     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.

   The incandescent performance enraptured the audience.

4. Extremely angry; furious.

   She is incandescent with rage because someone stole her wallet.

Derived terms

• incandescent lamp
• nonincandescent
• subincandescent

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)
• Korean: 백열적인 (baegyeoljeogin), 백열하는 (baegyeolhaneun)
• 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: 백열적인 (baegyeoljeogin), 백열하는 (baegyeolhaneun)
• 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)
• Korean: 백열적인 (baegyeoljeogin)
• 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 The New York Times‎^[3], archived from the original on 3 June 2017:

     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

Learned borrowing from Latin incandescens, present participle of incandesco (“to be heated, to glow”).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (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
• candide

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/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