Added 8 October 2026
torch
/ˈtɔːtʃ/ noun
In Latin: fax, taeda, facula Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about torch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A stick of wood or plant fibres twisted together, with one end soaked in a flammable substance such as resin or tallow and set on fire, which is held in the hand, put into a wall bracket, or stuck into the ground, and used chiefly as a light source.
The mob of angry villagers carried torches and pitchforks to the vampire’s castle.
- A similarly shaped implement with a replaceable supply of flammable material; specifically, a pole with a lamp at one end.
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Ellipsis of electric torch: synonym of flashlight (“a battery-powered hand-held light source”).
Ernst slipped and dropped his torch on the flagstones, shattering the bulb and plunging us into darkness.
verb
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To illuminate or provide (a place) with torches (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1). To intentionally destroy (something) by setting it on fire, especially when committing arson in furtherance of some other criminal act (e.g. insurance fraud or the destruction of evidence).
Some hoodlums had torched a derelict automobile, which emitted a ghastly pall of thick, black smoke that filled the street.
- To illuminate or provide (a place) with torches (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1).
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To intentionally destroy (something) by setting it on fire, especially when committing arson in furtherance of some other criminal act (e.g. insurance fraud or the destruction of evidence).
Some hoodlums had torched a derelict automobile, which emitted a ghastly pall of thick, black smoke that filled the street.
verb
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English torch, torche (“large candle; lighted stick; (figurative) sunbeam”), from Old French torche, torque (“torch; bundle of (twisted) straw”) (modern French torche); further etymology uncertain, probably from Vulgar Latin *torca (“coiled object”) (referring to a torch made from twisted plant fibres dipped in a flammable substance such as pitch), from Latin torqua, a variant of torquis (“collar of twisted metal, torque; wreath”), from torqueō (“to twist, wind”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)