girandole

G2I1R1A1N1D2O1L1E1
US/ˈdʒɪrənˌdoʊl/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪɹəndəʊl/

noun

An ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind.

Similar
Scrabble 11

Meanings

noungirandole (plural girandoles)

plural girandoles · alternative girandola

  1. An ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind.

    As I sat in my usual nook, and looked at him with the light of the girandoles on the mantelpiece beaming full over him...

    1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter XVIII, in Jane Eyre. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    It was a scene of gaiety, glitter, and show; of richly–dressed people, handsome mirrors, chalked floors, girandoles and wax–candles; and in all parts of the scene, gliding from spot to spot in silent softness, bowing obsequiously to this party, nodding familiarly to that, and smiling complacently on all, was the sprucely–attired person of Angelo Cyrus Bantam, Esquire, the Master of the Ceremonies.

    1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “c35”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC
  2. pyrotechnicsA type of firework which creates a "whirling top" or "flying saucer" effect.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan ornate candle holder; often with a mirror

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Italiangirandola
  2. Frenchgirandole
  3. Englishgirandole

From French girandole, from Italian girandola, from girare (“to turn, gyrate”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech girandola
  • girandolaan ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind
French girandole
  • girandolean ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind
Italian girandola
  • girandolaan ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind
Polish żyrandol
  • żyrandolan ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind
Portuguese girândola
  • girândolaan ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind
Russian жирандо́ль
  • жирандо́ль (žirandólʹ)an ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind
Ukrainian жирандо́ль
  • жирандо́ль (žyrandólʹ)an ornamental branched candle holder, sometimes with a mirror behind

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

girandole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/girandole

MLA

“girandole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/girandole. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “girandole,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/girandole.

Source: girandole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.