candlestick

Etymology

From Middle English candelstik, candelstikke, from Old English candelsticca (“candlestick”), equivalent to candle + stick. Cognate with Scots candilsteke, candilstik (“candlestick”). Compare Old Norse kertastika, kertistika (“candlestick”).

noun

1. A holder with a socket or spike for a candle.
   Sorcerers and other practitioners of witchcraft used to make a variety of candlestick called the Hand of Glory, chiefly from the flesh of criminals[.] 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 114
2. (gymnastics) A gymnastics move in which the legs are pointed vertically upward.
3. (finance) A color-coded bar showing the open and closing prices of a stock on a candlestick chart.
4. (Britain, military slang, historical) The central ignition tube connecting the fuse and charge of a WWI shrapnel shell, shaped like a candle stick.
   Inside the shrapnel shell was an iron bar with a flattened, broad nose. When the shell burst in the air this iron object fell to the ground and, since it came often from a great height, its fall was dangerous. The men called these candlesticks, which they much resembled. 1930, Ford Madox Ford, No More Parades, Grosset & Dunlap, page 20

verb

1. (of a parachute) To catch on fire, so that the chute resembles a tapered candle with a flame on top.
   Planes fell in flames, planes fell not in flames. Men fell in flames, men fell safely in their parachutes, some candlesticked. 1998, Sandler Stanley, Segregated Skies, page 104
   Archie Jack had a second lucky escape in a later attempt when his pilot, nervous of flying over the high mountain ranges, made him jump out at a much greater altitude than was usual. What initially seemed inconsiderate saved Jack's life as his parachute 'candlesticked', ... 2003, Heather Williams, Parachutes, Patriots and Partisans
   Others with chutes aflame candlesticked into the sea. 2013, Rick Atkinson, The Liberation
2. (investing) To analyze stock behavior using Japanese candlestick charts.
   The other book I would recommend is on a technical evaluation method called “candlesticking.” 2003, Cynthia Pirl, Intentional Investing
   “You wouldn't happen to be the B. J. Devine who wrote the Devine candlestick formula?” I blurted, not thinking it could be true. Candlesticking is one of the trickier methods of charting stock. 2014, Sarah Graves, Wreck the Halls
3. To adorn with candlesticks.
   The Drama's altar isn't on the stage; it is candlesticked and flowered in the box-office. 1962, John Wilson, The Faith of an Artist, page 71
   3 When I get my room arranged, it will be carpeted, cushioned, curtained (one set crimson dama[s]k, one white), mirrored, silver candlesticked, etc., etc., etc. 1988, William Reynolds, Anne Hoffman Cleaver, E. Jeffrey Stann, Voyage to the Southern Ocean, page 2
4. To form a tall, thin, tapering shape similar to a candle.
   If cut on the individual stems at three-leaf clusters, the cane will "candlestick." 1957, The American Rose Annual - Volume 42, page 50
   Initially, the end of the shaft is ragged, but then begins to taper smoothly, exhibiting the "candlesticking" or "pencilling" referred to in the literature (Fig. 13). 1976, Journal of the American Podiatry Association
   Caught there on a candlesticked overhang of ice, Quaid turned to peer down at his buddy. 1991, Renee Roszel, Valentine's Knight, page 192