English

Adjective

incandescent ‎(comparative more incandescent, superlative most incandescent)

1. emitting light as a result of being heated
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:

     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. showing intense emotion, as of a performance, etc.

Related terms

• incandescence
• incandescently

Derived terms

• incandescent lamp

Translations

Noun

incandescent ‎(plural incandescents)

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

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

Translations

See also

• fluorescent

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.kɑ̃.de.sɑ̃/
• Homophone: incandescents
• Hyphenation: in‧can‧de‧scent

Adjective

incandescent m ‎(feminine singular 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 le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

incandēscent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of incandēscō