Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. A small defensive earthwork or fort.
- n. A decorative wall bracket for holding candles or lights.
- n. A flattened candlestick that has a handle.
- n. Slang The human head or skull.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A light fixture.
- n. A head or a skull.
- n. A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
- v. to impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.
- v. to shut within a sconce; to imprison.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A fortification, or work for defense; a fort.
- n. A hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
- n. A piece of armor for the head; headpiece; helmet.
- n. Fig.: The head; the skull; also, brains; sense; discretion.
- n. A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
- n. A protection for a light; a lantern or cased support for a candle; hence, a fixed hanging or projecting candlestick.
- n. Hence, the circular tube, with a brim, in a candlestick, into which the candle is inserted.
- n. A squinch.
- n. A fragment of a floe of ice.
- n. A fixed seat or shelf.
- transitive v. To shut up in a sconce; to imprison; to insconce.
- transitive v. To mulct; to fine.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To fortify or defend with a sconce or block-house.
- Same as ensconce.
- To assess or tax at so much per head; mulct; fine; specifically, in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, to put the name of in the college buttery-books by way of fine; mulct in a tankard of ale or the like for some offense. See the quotations.
- n. A lantern with a protecting shade; a dark lantern; any lantern.
- n. A candlestick having the form of a bracket projecting from a wall or column; also, a group of such candlesticks, forming, with an appliqué or flat, somewhat ornamented disk or plaque which seems to adhere to the wall, a decorative object. These were most commonly of brass during the years when sconces were most in use.
- n. The socket for the candle in a candlestick of any form, especially when having a projecting rim around it.
- n. A cover; a shelter; a protection; specifically, a screen or partition to cover or protect anything; a shed or hut for protection from the weather; a covered stall.
- n. A work for defense, detached from the main works for some local object; a bulwark; a block-house; a fort, as for the defense of a pass or river.
- n. A cover or protection for the head; a headpiece; a helmet.
- n. Hence The head; the skull; the cranium, especially the top of it.
- n. Brains; sense; wits; judgment or discretion.
- n. A mulct; a fine. See sconce, v. t., 3.
- n. A seat in old-fashioned open chimney-places; a chimney-seat.
- n. A fragment of an ice-floe.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather
- n. a candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce
- n. a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or other sources of light
- n. a small fort or earthwork defending a ford, pass, or castle gate
Etymologies
Examples
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She fidgeted and her eyes joined Steph's on the sconce.
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She spotted the source of the smell in a sconce hanging halfway up the wall in the hallway across from the couches.
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Her eyes were still on the sconce and she appeared to be talking to herself.
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As one turns the face of the sconce, a splash of light is unleashed onto the wall.
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The maximum amount of light that the sconce emits (this is the case in the last picture) is enough to create a nice, peaceful atmosphere.
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The most important thing to remember is that the sconce should not be so high that you see the light bulb peeking out from under the shade when passing by.
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TOO HIGH | When a sconce is too high on the wall, you see a naked bulb under the shade, which is always a no-no.
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Generally, you want a sconce to be high enough on a staircase wall that you don't accidentally bump against it.
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Historic-style phone sconce at Wisconsin and Massachusetts avenues, after dark.
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Daily Pic: A wall sconce by Washington sculptor Dan Steinhilber, seen recently on a wall at G Fine Art, where his latest show lauches on Oct. 30.
bilby commented on the word sconce
"The lobby downstairs had been decorated with marble and bronze sconces. That was just a prelude. The lift opened to a staircase landing flooded with morning light from large dormer windows; it was big enough to hold a billiard tournament."
- 'The Quiet Girl', Peter Høeg.
March 18, 2008