corpse candle

English

Noun

corpse candle (plural corpse candles)

1. A thick candle formerly used at a wake (pre-internment event).
2. A luminous appearance, resembling a candle flame, sometimes seen in churchyards and other damp places, superstitiously regarded as portending death.

References

• “corpse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.