A metal collar or ring that catches wax drippings on a candlestick; a candle ring.
From French 'bobèche,' possibly from Italian 'bobècia,' of uncertain ultimate origin. The word entered English from French, particularly used in chandlery and household terminology.
The bobache is almost forgotten technology—it solved a specific problem (candle wax melting onto furniture and clothes) that electricity made obsolete. Yet the word survived in antique dealers' vocabulary, a linguistic fossil from the candlelit world.
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