This week’s theme
Idioms & metaphors

This week’s words
beacon
security blanket
incandescent
nuclear option
lily-handed

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(in-kuhn-DES-uhnt)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Emitting light when heated.
2. Extremely bright.
3. Displaying intense emotion, such as anger, affection, or zeal.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin incandescere (to become hot, glow), from in- (intensive prefix) + candere (to shine or glow), from candidus (white). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kand- (to shine) which also gave us candle, incense, candid, candida, candent, and candidate (in reference to white togas worn by Romans seeking office). Earliest documented use: 1794.

USAGE:

“Thomas Edison proved the superiority of incandescent lighting. His company eventually became General Electric, a beacon of American enterprise throughout the 20th century.”
Bubbleology; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 10, 2024.

“Tory MPs ... are incandescent that their leaders have recklessly inflicted economic pain on voters.”
Camilla Cavendish; This is Starmer’s Moment, but Victory Is Not Yet Assured; Financial Times (London, UK); Oct 1, 2022.

See more usage examples of incandescent in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: