A unit of light measurement equal to the amount of light from one candle that reaches one square foot of surface one foot away.
From 'foot' (unit of distance) + 'candle' (light source), coined in late 19th century as standardized measure before electric lights. It's literally the brightness of a candle at a foot's distance.
This term became obsolete almost as soon as electric lights replaced candles, yet it persisted in lighting design for decades—a linguistic fossil of the pre-electric world still used in theater and photography.
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