Dictionary entry

Incandescent

Webster's Dictionary 1913

In′can‐des″cent (?), a. [L. incandecens, -entis, p. pr. of incandescere to become warm or hot; pref. in- in + candescere to become of a glittering whiteness, to become red hot, incho. fr. candere to be of a glittering whiteness: cf. F. incandescent. See Candle.] White, glowing, or luminous, with intense heat; as, incandescent carbon or platinum; hence, clear; shining; brilliant.

Holy Scripture become resplendent; or, as one might say, incandescent throughout. I. Taylor.

Incandescent lamporlight(Elec.), a kind of lamp in which the light is produced by a thin filament of conducting material, usually carbon, contained in a vacuum, and heated to incandescence by an electric current, as in the Edison lamp; — called also incandescence lamp, and glowlamp.