chandelier

Noun

chandelier (plural chandeliers)

1. A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.
   • She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, chapter VII, in A House Is Built, section vi
   1. (specifically, originally) One lit by candles.
2. (attributive, often, auction) A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction.
   • A mysterious phone bidder was grabbing the pieces that no one else wanted—Mensun suspected this was the auction house "bidding against the chandelier," protecting itself against selling too low.2007, Frank Pope, "Dragon Sea: a true tale of treasure, archeology, and greed off the coast of Vietnam", Harcourt Books, p. 306.
   • The bids are usually real but can be fake or ‘chandelier’ bids (non-existing bids taken ‘off the chandelier’) on behalf of the consignor, or bids left with the auctioneer in advance.2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   wall

3. An endoilluminator used in eye surgery.
4. (obsolete) A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences.
   • Chandelier. A wooden frame, whereon are laid fascines or faggots, to cover the workmen in making approaches.[1747, James Boswell, The Scots Book, volume IX, page 37
   • Europeans solved this problem by building a temporary fence with tightly bound sticks ("fascines") stacked into wooden frames ("chandeliers").1994, Todd A. Shallat, Structures in the Stream: Water, Science, and the Rise of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, University of Texas Press, page 32