candlewick

American  

[kan-dl-wik] / ˈkæn dlˌwɪk /

noun

1. the wick of a candle.

2. Textiles.  Also candlewicking.

   1. Also called candlewick yarn.  loosely twisted yarn, usually of cotton, used for making candlewick fabric.

   2. the process of making candlewick fabric.

   3. the design made by this process.

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adjective

1. (of a fabric) having small, short bunches of wicking tufted to form a design.

   a candlewick bedspread of unbleached muslin.

candlewick British  

/ ˈkændəlˌwɪk /

noun

1. unbleached cotton or muslin into which loops of yarn are hooked and then cut to give a tufted pattern. It is used for bedspreads, dressing gowns, etc

2. the wick of a candle

3. (modifier) being or made of candlewick fabric

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Etymology

Origin of candlewick

before 1000; Middle English candelweke, Old English candelwēoc. See candle, wick ¹

Example Sentences

A cat, dozing on a table, spits on a paw and snuffs out a candlewick.

From The New Yorker

To make that robe, said Powell in a telephone interview, “I bought a couple of bed covers — they’re called candlewick — from eBay.”

From Seattle Times

Coming off methadone, I slid sweaty from under institutional candlewick, and went downstairs to sit up with the night watchman, a solid presence in shirt, tie and spectacles.

From The Guardian

Self-taught and working before and after the first world war, Smith mastered early microscopic, time-lapse and underwater photography with contraptions he fashioned from Meccano, candlewicks and gramophone needles.

From The Guardian

From outside, the rumble of a truck and the sharp clank of a bad gearbox entered the sanctuary and lingered in the air, which smelled of charred candlewick and tarnished brass.

From The New Yorker