The international standard unit of luminous intensity, representing the brightness of light in a specific direction; a candle produces roughly one candela.
From Latin candela meaning candle, from candere meaning to shine. The unit was named after candles because candles were the standard light source when luminous intensity measurement was first formalized.
Scientists chose to name the light-measuring unit after candles because for centuries, a 'standard candle' was literally how people measured and compared brightness—the physics unit preserves this ancient practice in a single word.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.