candelilla
Americannoun
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a shrub, Euphorbia antisyphilitica, of the southwestern United States and Mexico, that is the source of a wax candelilla wax having various commercial uses.
Etymology
Origin of candelilla
First recorded in 1935–40; from Latin American Spanish, Spanish: literally, “small candle,” equivalent to candel(a) candle + -illa diminutive suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The candelilla trade is declining, and if it fades away entirely, some of the legitimacy of the trading-post appellation will disappear too.
From Time Magazine Archive
If there is no two-way trade across the border -- candelilla in one direction, groceries in the other -- Lajitas will no longer be a trading post.
From Time Magazine Archive
Each year the storekeeper buys about 50 tons of candelilla, a wax derived from the candelilla plant, a spindly desert plant, and used in the manufacture of cosmetics.
From Time Magazine Archive
I dabbed candelilla wax on my lips from the small tin pot I had brought with us.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
Puesto que el amirante a los diez de la noche viò lumbre ... y era como una candelilla de cera que se alzaba y levantaba, lo cual a pocos pareciera ser indicio de tierra.
From The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1 of 2) by Warburton, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.